House in Progress Diary

JM,

See my comment on house made.

SD

AMEN

I could not agree with you more. We are drowning in a sea of hate; the body count keeps going up - ours and theirs - and this is somehow seen as a just war. Somehow the sanctity of my marriage has been saved but from what I don't know; certainly not the love and honest relationships of our gay friends. The supreme court will be packed as soon as possible with folks who will insist on the complete elimination of a woman's right to control her own body. I hate to be overly dramatic, and I don't think I am. If anything, we need a hell of a lot more drama.

hear, hear.

I am so sad and angry. It's comforting to show up at your house and find others feeling the same way.

Okay, everyone...slide down the bench and make room. This is absolutely, without a doubt, the makings of a FUN, drown-your-sorrows pity party ;) 48 hours opportunity to hang out here and drown your sorrows before heading back into your daily fray.

Complete with my pal Ilsabe's hit song, Pity Party. Later on, we can sing Gone together and have a good cry. It's such a good song...a really good, sad song...

I am an American living in New Zealand this year. A place filled with beauty, both God and man made. I happened upon your web site by accident but feeling the need to reconnect with the Tudor revival house we left behind (in good hands) I stayed for a visit. I laughed and relived so many of our own remodeling woes and joys through your words and pictures. I have struggled these past few months trying to explain to my new friends why America might actually re-elect such a woeful president. I feel as though I have lost a dear friend, the integrity and compassion that I once thought of as America. As in any time of mourning it is good to feel in the presence of those who care. Thanks for letting me rest here a while today.

I am typing one handed w/ an infant bent on gumming the mouse, so it will perforce be kept short.

I think I got on the nerves of my coworkers today by continually walking around the office, whistling 'How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away', by Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks. Somehow I got tapped as the single obligatory conservative in our department, even though I consider myself to be far from it. In my forced role, I sometimes enjoy playing the devil's advocate. I remember driving home last night, thinking that no matter who ended up being chief exec for the next four years, the country probably wouldn't go to hell in a hand basket over night. Four years can go by pretty quickly. The last four seem to have. Hey, at least it was a good day in the Obama household...

Jeannie, Thanks for posting the Heaney poem. It made me feel a lot better.
Yes, I'm disappointed in the election results, but one good thing came out of all this: both DH and I are now really interested for the first time in our lives in politics. We're going to be working for a better future from now on.

Hang in there!

Jeanie, I know it's tough - really, really tough - to see your guy lose. We've all been there. But remember, there are millions of loving, decent, intelligent people out there who voted for George Bush. We voted for him probably for the very same reason you voted for John Kerry -- because we believe he can do the most good for the American people and can better guarantee freedom and equality. Good people can disagree on the best means to the same end, and demonizing those who happen to differ with us doesn't exactly do much to promote honest dialogue or devise constructive solutions to the things which we all agree are problems.

So, go ahead and be blue today. God knows I would be if the results had come out differently. Just remember that millions of us who voted for the president want the same things as you - freedom, opportunity, and prosperity for all Americans and all peoples.

Emily--Thank you. I know that some good people voted for Bush...a few of my family members were among them, I'm sure. :)

I hope you realize that I do not intend to demonize all of the folks who voted for Bush or saint all of those who did not. Nor am I upset because a specific party lost. There have been people I've voted for on both sides of the aisle.

My "greyness" stems from what I know after a lifetime of studying politics, systemic theory and the media...after all, for awhile there, it was my job as well as my passion. Currently, I work for a Christian church.

Having carefully read over the fine print of many of the positions and decisions put forth by this adminstration over the last four years, I don't believe that their record matches what they say they would like to do for the American people. Looking ahead to the long term effects of those decisions, I feel that we are not just doing things a different way than I personally would like to see them done. I feel that we are doing things as a country that we will not be able to "un-do"...permanent things. Things that will affect our children and grandchildren in hurtful ways. And that this agenda will eventually hurt everyone, no matter what party they voted for. I've stripped out the religious issues...I believe those are issues that will be decided by denominations, not a democratic government that has publically stated that it does not support theocracies as a government model. Based on economic, foreign policy and domestic policy issues alone, I feel we are being led astray. Many Republicans agree with this as well.

So, if my greyness stems from anything, it stems from my sadness and realization that negative campaigning does seem to work with my fellow citizens, that it was an ugly four years in my opinion and looks like it will be another ugly four years, that more of my friends will lose their jobs, that marketing will continue to matter more than substance, that religion will continue to be used for advertising, and that our power as a citizenry will continue to be whittled away.

I think, in that case, it is okay for me to feel grey.

it is grey. it is scary but, in a few days... the resistance begins... clearly, we can count on you

Have you visited Coastopia? ;)

Thanks Jeanie for the kind response. Seriously if the tables were reversed I would be saying almost the exact same thing. I too was a poli sci/speech com major, worked in DC politics for years, and now work for a Catholic university, so we have similar concerns as well as backgrounds.

Policy differences aside, the political discourse over the past four years has devolved on both sides of the aisle, and no reasonable person can think that's a good thing for the country. Hopefully, despite the results of this election, all of us will be able to put the bitter feelings of the 2000 election behind us, and let this be the beginning for a new and more civilized dialogue between liberals on conservatives on how we can address the problems that concern us all. But, go ahead and be gray today. It's perfectly understandable.

Let me start by saying I voted for Bush. I think he is the best hope for our country. If we can't or won't beat the terrorists we can forget about our economy, our religion, our jobs, our family & most of everything we hold dear. Make no mistake, this is world war 3. I feel Bush is the right man to fight those people. That being said, I am white Sox fan but I don't hate the Cubs. Likewise, I don't hate Kerry. I just think he is not presidential material. Bush is president of all of us. Stand behind him. You had a Hoover banner on this site. I lived when Hoover was president. So, I am not some Johnny-come lately. POPS"30"

I was also drawn to Heaney's Philoctetes when I heard the umpteenth interview with someone characterizing their vote for Bush as a "moral" choice (I think they are confusing "moral" with "pertinacious" but that is a different discussion). I was comforted by Heaney's epigraph (from Auden):

"O look, look in the mirror,
O look in your distress;
Life remains a blessing
Although you cannot bless.

O stand, stand at the window
As the tears scald and start;
You shall love your crooked neighbour
With your crooked heart."

Unfortunately, it is the same cold comfort I take knowing that we who oppose this administration, not without sin ourselves, will be vindicated by history.

And I will have to let that be the final word.

The grey day is over...we're moving on. I need to drain the yucky water out of the furnace, hose out the sump pump and regroup.

Thanks for letting me get what I needed to off of my chest.

Now I need to get all of this basement dirt off my hands.

This blog now returns to its regular programming. :)