Election Results: Pissing On Your Parade

If you see a crazy guy in the street punching himself in the face with both fists, how does it make you feel?

What if he’s got a big nuclear bomb strapped to his chest?

Now, how would you feel if after watching this for SIX YEARS, the man stopped punching himself in the face WITH ONE HAND?

Yeah, that’s pretty much how I feel about the American electorate: “Well done” to the slight majority that voted to stop punching yourself in the face, “extremely confused” by the large minority that voted to keep punching yourself in the face, and “man, after six years of punching yourself in the face, even if you stop, you’re going to be in pain for a while”. And that’s assuming that the hand that stopped starts doing first aid, which it might not. And that’s also assuming that the hand that’s still punching doesn’t go for the bomb trigger, or just go for the neck.

Maybe that seems a little harsh, but I’m hearing a lot of jubliation today, and all I see is the potential for the beginning of change, not MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

And looking at the various gay marriage amendments, I’m not even sure I want to say “well done” to the people who voted (D) but also voted the “gays are icky” slate.

Yes, the results are much better than the alternative, but that doesn’t mean that you can go back to sleep. There’s a lot of damage to undo, and a large portion of the population that still doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with “punching yourself in the face”. I’d think the place to start would be with that free hand writing up a few subpeonas. Of course, enforcing them might not be as automatic as we might expect.

UPDATE: PNH exactly captures the attitude I would like to see among progressive Americans: “Relief is appropriate. We’re a long way from fixing all the damage, and our victories are tentative, but by God they’re victories. Back to work.”