Last week, I thought our country was in a precarious state, tiptoeing around disaster; now, I believe we have condemned our nation to four years of social, political, and economic calamity. George W. Bush has been woefully inadequate as a leader of our nation, and to discover that we have elected him to serve for an additional four years is a truly terrifying thought. Kerry’s concession speech called for a unified nation; however, W. is the wrong man to achieve this goal. Indeed, W. has been the prime impetus behind our often lamented bitterly polarized nation. W. has alienated African Americans and other minorities by opposing affirmative action. He has disregarded the rights of homosexuals by promoting a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage and opposing gay adoptions. He has violated the principles of separation of church and state, far too often expressing his devotion to Christianity and placing religion above science, especially in light of his restriction on stem cell research. He has targeted only the far right of America; he speaks to the conservatives and to the rich, ignoring the diversity of America. Furthermore, his ill conceived and poorly executed war in Iraq has further bitterly divided our country. W. has consistently opposed abortion, seeking to deny women fundamental rights. He refers to Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas as archetypal justices. These men are notorious for their persistent efforts to overturn the principles of Roe v. Wade (1973); they argue that there is no constitutionally protected right to personal privacy, and state governments can pass laws outlawing abortion. These men take similarly conservative stances on other social issues. As a woman, I take a particular offense to the notion the government has the authority to override my choices about my own body. During the past four years of W.’s reign, our budget deficit has grown to $422 billion, our debt a whopping $7.39 trillion. Despite these blatant signs of a government in need of fiscal restraint, W. advocates an increase in military spending of 4.2 percent to a total of $380 billion, proposes more than $1 billion for reconstruction in Afghanistan, and favors tax cuts. Indeed, W. prides himself on his 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, arguing that they have spurred our economy. Right, and that is why his administration has witnessed the loss of three million jobs. In the future, W.’s support of offshore outsourcing will only further weaken his record on the economy. An estimated 20,000 jobs are being exported overseas each month. What about our environment, and our over dependence on oil? Kerry supported environmentally appropriate gas requirements, hybrid cars, and hydrogen fuel. During W.’s administration, the environment was blithely disregarded in favor of big business and we went to war over oil. Quite frankly, I am scared. If W. appoints three more justices in the mold of Scalia and Thomas, the fundamental rights of Americans will be deeply and permanently eroded. And, knowing that some of my friends and family members might be drafted to fight in a brutal and hopeless war-especially in a war commenced by deception-is quite a frightening prospect. I want to grow up in a world in which, as a woman, I can choose what happens to my body, in which my generation is not saddled with a gargantuan debt, in which the environment is conducive to a healthy lifestyle, and in which I feel safe in the knowledge that America is respected by the rest of the world. Sadly, with W. in charge, I fear that the future is grim. Our country had an opportunity to elect a strong, inclusive, and insightful leader for all the people, to make a positive change; instead, we have re-elected W. and made a turn for the “W”orse.
