Truly Blue

So the abyss? Yeah, Jaws. Not, I repeat, NOT safe to go back in the water. Atlantis will have to wait, perhaps a very long time.

Here we are. There was a day after the election after all. A dark and depressing one, mind you, but a day. Only 1460 or so more until we get another chance at this. That's not so bad, right?

On Tuesday, I stood on a pedestrian overpass with an activist friend, holding a Kerry/Edwards sign, waving to cars driving under. Ah, we were so young and optimistic then. It seems quaint now (only two days later? really?), that we actually believed that we were one country, ready for change; that though we might not share the same backgrounds or opinions with our red-state brethren, we still could agree on some basics: that we deserve honest leadership, that jobs and health care should be there for all of our citizens, that safety and security are important, but so are civil liberties.

Instead, it turns out that the fear of dudes kissing trumps it all (ah Jon Stewart you are a such a light in this darkness). Sure that's an overly simplistic analysis, I know, I know. But guess what? Simple is what 51% of voters want... hell, it's what they are, and happy to be so.

So back to Tuesday (if only!). The two of us with our signs saw a lot of people honking horns and giving us thumbs up in support of our effort. Of course, we also got flipped off a fair number of times (yep, there are conservatives even in godless blue Seattle). The first time it happened, my anger surged and without thinking I gave it right back to them. HA! TAKE THAT! But then I realized that confronting them in that oh-so-civilized way certainly wasn't going to change their minds or make me feel any better.

So I changed strategies. Next time the bird came my way, I simply smiled and kept waving, or if I had time, flipped 'em a sign of the two-fingered variety. Peace, man. I like to think that they interpreted it one of two ways: either they thought I didn't see they were disagreeing with me, or they realized I had indeed seen them but that it didn't bother me in the slightest. Either way, it had to be a wee bit frustrating for them. I hope. And it made me feel better, knowing I was taking the high road, not engaging in a struggle that was pointless and unwinnable.

Pointless and unwinnable. I GET it now, viscerally, in a way that I never did before. Simply put: reason, logic and sanity cannot compete against blind ignorant faith. There are a lot of people out there who believe Jesus and his right-hand man Bush will take care of them (though neither one is doing a very good job for them on the economic front). They believe that I am a bad person who is going to hell for thinking a woman should have reproductive choice or that family values apply to ALL families, including those comprised of two dudes. They live in an alternate reality where it is morally-acceptable to kill 100,000 people in order to "lead them out of the Islamo-fascist darkness", where they think they're safer with a leader who has isolated us from the rest of the world and made us more hated than ever.

There is no compromise possible, no center here, and I will fight as hard as I can to keep the Democratic party from quixotically moving further to the right in a mistaken attempt to get more votes in the so-called heartland. Trying to appeal to these people is the mistake we've been making election cycle after election cycle with the same results. Honestly I don't think we could get their votes if we gave them all guns and let them declare open season on the lesbians and abortion providers. And I for one will not spend one more moment of my time arguing with them. There is no point to it.

This morning I hear that the administration now thinks it has a mandate for its policies. I love this. 51% used to mean "got it by the skin of my teeth" and now it's a mandate. And so it begins. Mourn and grieve, and then start working to gather your power, y'all. The next four years aren't going to be pretty.