From Talk to Action
My condolences to Terrie, Wayne, Carol, Bob, Joe Holt, and all my other friends and relatives are were less pleased with the election results than I. A radio commentator told me this morning that pre-election polling indicated 4% of Kerry supporters would be comfortable with Bush winning the election, and 4% of Bush supporters would rest easily if the reverse happened. With 99% of the precincts counted nationally, 54,799,351 voted for Kerry as opposed to 58,320,992 for Bush. Ninety-six percent of Kerry's is 52,607,377 who are as miserable as I would have been in their shoes. Geesh.
When I won my only contested election March 8, 1988, my mother's immediate response to the news was, "I'm glad you won because you don't lose well." As much as I hate to admit it, I know she's right. Her brother Joe Holt, when I was about seven, said, "Barbara is a card shark." I've always played to win. It's who I am.
Still, more than 55 million people supported him (counting some who didn't get around to voting) and some of those people, I respect a great deal. So how do I go from what I said yesterday about starting peace to taking some positive steps? This is one. I'm acknowledging that good people legitimately thought he was the better candidate, whether they actually wanted him or just didn't want my candidate. What else can I do?
- I can respond to gloating with a word of reason, a word of reconciliation.
- I can understand the frustration with Bush, a frustration even my husband shares though he couldn't vote for Kerry either.
- I can try to think of the response those millions of others would make before deciding how I feel about the daily news.
- I could stop listening to WBAP, but I probably won't. It's like soap operas. You know it's insipid, but still, it's addictive.
Kerry has just conceded. Let us on the plus side be as gracious. Let the peace begin.
posted by Barbara Rollins @ 10:35 AM
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