Your Thoughts Exactly

Over at electoral-vote.com (see link above, in between the blazing Ichiro), a site analyzing the daily polls and which gets hundreds of thousands of hits a day, the one man show has come out of the closet, and…he’s a Kerry supporter. He’s also an American living abroad, and, as such, has a reason for his support that the media, and in turn voters, largely brush aside as inconsequential, or at least not as important as other issues; he wants people to like America again. Not just for egoistic reasons, but for important pragmatic concerns, as well as a touch of ethics. I’ll just give you a snip of what he says:

Now you might be thinking: Who the hell cares if America is the world's
pariah, along with, say, North Korea and Zimbabwe? Well, I care, for one, and I
think most Americans want to be respected for being a democracy rather than
simply being feared because we have more nuclear weapons than anybody else. You can't make the world love you by running commercials full of snarling wolves on worldwide TV.

I would love to quote nearly the entire thing, but that would serve little purpose – just go check it out. He quotes a respected British newspaper simply berating America and President Bush – and this from our strongest ally. His concern is one that should be important, but usually the President and his supporters make fun of the issue. Who cares what Europe! thinks. Look at Kerry, he looks so French! We are America, and they are Wrong.

Well, it is important. We are not succeeding in Iraq. We need more help from the global community to effectively and efficiently finish the job. As the EU is strengthening and unifying Europe, we are drifting farther and farther away into a new form of imperial isolationism. We don’t want or need help or advice from anyone, yet we are taking unprecedented steps to convert the world to our way of life.

Now, I agree that we should take an active role in the modernization and industrialization of third world countries, as both a humanitarian and a security necessity (both in terms of the homeland, and, yes, I’ll say it, World Peace). But to do so, we must be respected in the world as a legitimate authority, and must respect the customs we are currently trampling to be regarded and welcomed as a genuine friend. This administration has utterly disregarded such cautions, and as a result, a 260 million people have never been so lonely. It is time for a change. You may not believe in the estate tax, you may think owning machine guns is a natural right, but surely you also believe in the America in which we grew up. An America that is a symbol of freedom and leadership around the globe. A nation that, despite its faults, constantly progresses, accepting new challenges and embracing new discoveries, leading the charge into the future.