I don't know what to think about those red-staters today, but I don't know much about them either. More than anything, they scare the shit out of me every four years. I've been to Mississippi many times, which illustrated for me quite effectively the tragedy of our public education system (In my Maryland kindergarten, I was learning to read; when I went to school with my cousin, we were expected to color quietly, and punished - with extra coloring - if we drew outside the lines), and lived in Louisiana, where the "hog-doggin" debate was quite heated. The two articles I most vividly remember reading in the newspaper while I lived there: a story about the trend of people killing their parents for video poker money and an analysis of a study that found two-thirds of adults in the state were functionally illiterate.
Last night's election map only reinforced whatever vague prejudices I had towards the so-called "fly-over states." How on earth can people think that Bush, who -- and this should be obvious for anyone who has ever heard him speak -- is anything but an embarassment to this country? Not to mention the policies that he has enacted that have affected women, and their families, and no doubt, the worst is yet to come. We are truly living in dark times.
CampaignDesk.org continues to produce excellent commentary and reporting on the media and the election process, and if you're as bewildered as I am about how this could have happened given the incontrovertible facts and events of the last four years, go and check out this book today.
In solidarity,
Lauren
*Originally posted at The Cupcake Blog.
Comments