As most of you know, the election did not turn out how I would have liked. While I was expecting a successful result for the Democratic party, I still held on to a shred of hope that the GOP would pull through, but clearly that did not happen. Was I disappointed? Certainly. However, I must say that my disappointment continues, only now the focus has shifted to the behavior of some of my fellow Republicans. The outcome of the election obviously shows that the GOP has some serious work to do toward reforming our party and our campaigning strategies, however, most of what I've been hearing is not about how we can improve, but rather how miserable life is going to be with Obama as president. I wish people would think back to the inspirational and heartfelt words of Senator McCain during his concession speech:
I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited. Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that. It is natural. It's natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again.
Sure, our parties have stark differences in certain beliefs and moral issues, but in the overall scheme of things, we all want to live the American dream...we just have different philosophies on how to go about achieving that dream. Yes, we may disagree with many of president-elect Obama's policy plans, but like it or not, he is going to be our President come January and no amount of complaining is going to change that. As our commander-in-chief, he deserves our respect. Since the election ended, I have received numerous facebook invitations to groups such as "Now that Barack is president, I think I'll be a lazy bum" or "Don't Blame Me...I Voted for McCain!" What happened to giving the guy a fair chance? He hasn't even taken office yet and these are people's sentiments? It's no secret that I was a McCain supporter, but there comes a point where you have to stop being a sore loser. America is America because of democracy and free elections. The Democrats won this election because Americans apparently wanted a "change." Give Obama time to take office and start implementing his platform. If he screws up and you voted against him, then you have a right to start complaining, and maybe the majority who supported him will end up joining you, but in the meantime, show some optimism and refrain from the negative accusations. He is going to be our president for the next four years, like it or not.
Are these feelings the result of the liberal college atmosphere rubbing off on me? I don't think so. I remain firm in my conservative values and I still support the principles that the Republican party stands for. I am simply appalled by the behavior of some self-professing Republicans who seem to have forgotten the meaning of respect toward our country's leaders.
Okay, sorry for the rant. I just needed to get that off my chest. Thanks for reading! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment