Published: November 20, 2008 10:28 pm         

Election fear boggles the mind

I have been absolutely amazed by the amount of fear and dread expressed in local media, and even by some people I consider good friends and neighbors, about the result of the recent presidential election. A just-awakened Rip Van Winkle sleeper might think Satan himself has taken control of our lives!

This locally expressed fear is in complete contrast to what I am hearing from friends and relatives in other parts of this country including Michigan, Colorado, California, Minnesota, Missouri and Tennessee. Basically the mood I am hearing from them is hope! For the first time in years they have hope, hope for something better in the future.

Lisa Shearer has it right in her editorial (“Stepping away from fear,” Opinion, Nov. 13, 2008). We need to put those fears aside, accept the result our Constitution has given us and work together for a better America.

Lisa makes the point that Obama’s success may depend on how well he pays attention to the 46 percent of Americans who voted for John McCain, and I agree. There already are indications that he is doing that. He is meeting with McCain to discuss working together, and apparently he is seriously considering retaining Robert Gates in the important post of defense secretary.

Contrast this with George W. Bush who lost the popular vote in 2000, became president only by the grace of a Supreme Court decision and won only 51 percent of the popular vote in 2004. Both times he claimed to have a mandate, completely ignored the wishes of the minority, which was nearly half of all Americans, and pushed a hard-right conservative agenda. Perhaps that is why his administration is such a disaster.

We will see if an Obama administration can do a better job, but he owes nothing to right-wing conservative Republicans. If he chooses to listen to them it will be because he is a stronger and more tolerant man than George W. Bush.

The most frightening things about this transition are the threats, sick jokes, hate-filled signs and references to assassination directed at Obama. A current news report points out that there have been more of these directed at him than against any recent presidential candidate. Why does savagery have to be so close to the surface of the life we live? As Lisa notes in her editorial, Oklahoma is apparently no exception, even though we like to refer to our state as the “buckle of the Bible belt.” What happened to “Love your neighbor as yourself” and “Turn the other cheek”? Some of the comments by school children mentioned by Lisa surely were learned at home. Perhaps the moderating influence of some caring, hard-working public school teachers is what it takes to counter that home-learned hate. Beth Stephenson, please note (“An apology and a proper praise,” Opinion, Nov. 12, 2008).

After a lot of rhetoric about “Two Americas” (“John Edwards was right,” Opinion, Nov. 14, 2008) Keith Weber equates Democrats with the pigs in George Orwell’s book Animal Farm. This surprised me because I always have equated those pigs with corporate fat cats and their Republican cronies in government who work so hard to ensure they all retain their privileged status. In the pigs’ worldview ordinary folks like me get something only because some crumbs “trickle down.”

Even if I was born into poverty I don’t want to be relegated to crumbs. With proper application and a decent chance I want a shot at the big time. To me that is what America is all about. That is what Barack Obama is all about.

Weber’s reference to Orwell’s book 1984 is even more surprising. No administration has done more to bring “Big Brother” prying into our private lives than the conservative Republican one led by George W. Bush with the so-called Patriot Act.

In Weber’s article and in Jason Murphey’s article the same day (“Preparing for the expansion of government,” Opinion, Nov. 14, 2008) a lot of discussion is devoted to explaining why local control is best and the federal government’s role should be minimized. This is standard Republican rhetoric but in today’s world it seems misplaced. Why blame Democrats? The current Republican administration has expanded the federal government’s role far more than any other in recent history. The Department of Homeland Security, the aforementioned Patriot Act, an underfunded No Child Left Behind Act, a huge budget deficit and a confusing and costly Medicare Part D program are just some of the ways this Republican administration has increased federal government influence over our lives.

Republicans claim they want a diminished federal government role, but they apparently have no qualms about accepting its money. On page A5 of The Edmond Sun, just opposite the last two articles mentioned, is an article about how the new Republican state Legislature plans to fix health care in Oklahoma. Notice that the plan wholly depends on funding from the federal government. Republicans like money but they apparently do not believe in accountability. They also like public services as much as anyone, but don’t believe in the taxes that would pay for them. They apparently prefer to run up the public debt and let our children and grandchildren bear the load.

LEAMAN D. HARRIS is an Edmond resident.

     

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