Big City Liberals, Meet John & Mary Q. Public
There was shock, surprise and utter disbelief. Liberals will stand together and wonder how this could possibly happen (not really just Liberals, that?s more for effect than anything, hell we?re all quite curious about the results really).
It is a shame. I firmly believe that President Bush is not fit for this honorable position (that increasingly becomes more of a joke each new President), but maybe it isn?t as much of a surprise to me because I understand how this happened.
The shocked reaction makes me believe that maybe Liberals don?t know any people that aren?t in line with their own political points of view. That in itself is odd to me, given that the typical Liberal basis is diversity and tolerance (I always did find that a bit odd). Most of the people in this country maybe aren?t as savvy, involved or even as passionate about politics as people that live in larger cities. They aren?t stupid or careless, they just think about things differently. It really isn?t a tough concept to understand. Maybe Big City Liberals have never actually known anyone that lives in a trailer, who?s net annual family income is less than 30K or had to drop out of high school to get a job and help out around home. Strike that?maybe they don?t know them outside of the charity work they do.
Most Americans are all Apple Pie, Ma & Pa and truly believe in the sanctity of The Presidency. Why would The President lie, right? They see a Good Ole Boy, who I might add, is not really one, but masks himself quite well as such, who stood up for Americans. The majority of Americans do not live in large cities and generally have different values than those that do reside in concrete jungles. Why is this such a mystery? How could we not have seen this coming? Because?because we surround ourselves with our clones. People who think and feel the same. Would it kill a Democrat to reach out to a Republican and open the doors of communication and vice versa? If anything, this election has shown me what a huge wedge we have driven between ourselves as Americans. We need to work together.
Frankly, it scares me Bush will retain office, but maybe this will clue some of the people in this country that there are millions of regular folk out there to speak to, to listen to. I'm not saying they are right, nor am I saying we are either. They aren?t there simply to dismiss or make a punch line to your bad jokes.
And yes?.I did vote.
Comments
Good post, babe. I think conservatives would have been equally shocked to see Dubya go down in defeat, which is symbolic of how cocooned each side is from the other. While Dubya won by 3 million votes in the popular tally, only 140,000 votes in Ohio made the difference in the electoral college.
Posted by: Kevin B. O'Reilly | November 3, 2004 9:27 PM
Wow. Could you be any more smug and condescending? For someone accusing others of being judgemental, you should really look in the mirror. The term "Big City Liberal" may seem cute to you, but it is just as much of a generalization as you accuse others of. You really don't know anything about the people you accuse or what kind of background they come from.
Posted by: vince | November 3, 2004 10:21 PM
OK, my first reaction may have been a little harsh. My main beef is the way you frame this entry; the choice of language frames it as liberals vs. "regular folk." As if somehow, liberals are some kind of "other" that is separate and not equal to "people living their lives."
This is exactly how the conservatives want people to think about liberals, as elitist, out-of-touch urbanites who have no connection with "the people." Well, we are part of the people. We live our lives too. We just have different opinions about politics. Do not lump us into some "other" group, one that has been so demonized by the right wing that liberal has become a dirty word.
I reject this premise altogether. I'm John Q. Public, too.
Posted by: vince | November 4, 2004 12:37 AM
I started making a post, but since it became longish, I posted it at my blog
For those of you not liking links, here's the summary: I think there's a kernel of truth in what the princess says - but lets stop being divided by fringe groups.
Posted by: groby | November 4, 2004 9:24 AM
Republicans think of Democrats as amoral, lying, cheating, stealing, grabby little weasels. Democrats think of Republicans as semiretarded, greedy, Jesus-lovin' hillbillies. This is a fairly new phenomenon. It's easier to demonize your opponent than to recognize that their view might be just as valid as yours.
Take heart, everybody -- the Red Team though the world was ending in '96. Things come back around.
Posted by: Al | November 4, 2004 10:01 AM
Just because the majority of Americans disagree does not make them right. A majority of Americans once believed in segregation, slavery, a non-voting female public, polluting cars, and . Liberals are the ones that fought against a lot of those things and we've created a better world for it. We are not always right, but nor are we "out of touch" or elitist. If anything, I could say the ones out of touch are those that live in rural areas and hardly know anyone that hasn't lived on a farm, in a trailer park, or in a small town.
Rather, I'd like to start educating everyone so next election I don't hear more sound bites being tossed around, rather than actual facts. Also, a little damn tolerance of your fellow man might go a long way too.
Posted by: crowdpleazr | November 4, 2004 11:34 AM
I know plenty of people who make less than $30k. Some of them have college degrees, some of them are in the process of putting themselves through school and some of them are high school grads - I don't think any dropped out. Some of them have lived in trailers. Some of them are younger than me, but not all.
Dismissal cuts both ways. The people who make assumptions about the 'liberals' because they don't go to the same churches or live in the same towns or drive the same trucks or shop at the same stores or watch the same TV shows or use the same turns of phrase have some work to do, too.
Posted by: Graham | November 4, 2004 2:44 PM
Wow some of you really take things too personally. I think the princess was just pointing out the need for more communication and tolerance between us ALL. I've lurked around here for a while and I never got the impression she wasn't Liberal.
Posted by: Johnny | November 4, 2004 4:29 PM