I replied to a comment on Jenn's livejournal, and I figured I'd post my reply here as well (updated slightly), because it pretty much sums up my thoughts on the matter.
kana_ichigo wrote:
i have a question: since here in italy everyone says that every american hates bush, and no one would have ever re-voted for him, and since i heard on the radio this morning that he is actually the winner of these elections, my question is: is it real that everyone hates bush this much? it all sounds like a joke here O_O
It's funny you bring that up. That is actually my biggest concern in all of this. I figured the world would give us the benefit of the doubt if we swiftly and decisively elected Bush out of office. But if he does in fact get reelected, it will appear to the world that we condone and agree with what he is doing. Sadly, the fact is, our media is in a sorry state, and they simply accept what the government provides them in press releases, etc. and report it as fact, doing little to no fact checking on it. And there's a large portion of American society who is well off enough that they are in a position where they have little need, or really even desire, to question what the media hands them. I had faith that most would see through the charade, see past Bush's lies, and realize what has really been going on. But the way the election results are looking, it seems my faith in humanity was misplaced.
I think there is a disturbingly large amount of the population that has actually fallen for the disinformation the Bush administration has been handing out; they truly believe that Iraq had something to do with the 9/11 attacks, and that the Iraqis are welcoming us with open arms and laurel wreaths. Once they've allowed themselves to be convinced of that worldview, it's not hard to see why they would be so proud of Bush for being a good, strong leader, never swaying from his course even in the face of the most grueling evidence of his incorrectness.
Also, keep in mind that we have such low voter turnout that the 50% of the voters that support Bush really only represent about 25% of the actual American population. Not that that's a very good excuse, though.
Posted by Amy 6 hours, 15 minutes later
Funny you should say you're pricing out a ticket to Canada...because alot of Americans have said the same thing to me and to other people I know. They all are starting to seriously wonder why they are a part of the USA. My prediction: Bush leads to the downfall of America. Seriously.
Posted by Dan 20 minutes later
He's certainly been working fervently towards that apparent goal. I'm actually seriously concerned about him instituting a draft. Yes, I know he clearly (?) stated that he wouldn't. But he doesn't have to worry about reelection now, and it certainly wouldn't be the first time a candidate has promised things during his campaign and not followed through. Besides, with this resounding confirmation of the American public's susceptibility to manipulation, it wouldn't be difficult at all for Bush to simply explain to people that the situation in Iraq has grown much more dire since he made that declaration, and the new situation unfortunately requires Americans to give of themselves for the Honor of their country. God has commanded it. All praise be to Alla— er, God.
A draft would especially piss me off since the Jones Act that granted Puerto Ricans US citizenship in 1917 doesn't allow us to vote for president, yet we can be drafted for the military. Not that it affects me directly — I personally wouldn't be first in line to be drafted of course, but living here just makes me more aware of that particular injustice.
You might want to direct people to this informative article: Electing To Leave.