the death of democracy

*thanks to dogseat for image

It’s the day after the US Presidential Elections. Bush got back in. Something like 51% to 49% is what I heard.

The day is grey. There’s no sun and the low clouds are blocking out any blue sky. Everything seems faded of colour in this light. The trees are shedding their leaves. All in all, the weather pretty much matches my mood. It’s reflective of how a lot of people feel.

The New Yorkers were all so optimistic that I thought maybe Kerry had a chance. They were all gathering at one house to watch the results come in, bottles of champagne chilling for the celebratory drinks, flasks of whiskey tucked in back pockets to calm the nerves as Jon Stewart chatted his way through Election Night. But the champagne and whiskey turned to commiserating drinks, something to steady the nerves ahead of four more years of Bush.

That’s what I’ve seen a lot of. “Four More Years.” “Four Year Hangover.” “How can 59, 054, 087 people be wrong?” as on the Daily Mirror, above. Strange, they always seemed a fairly right wing newspaper. Jumping on the Kerry bandwagon.

I saw Kerry’s concession speech where he got a standing ovation. “We’ve still got your back man!” someone yelled from the crowd as the applause subsided. I almost cried.

I think we might be hearing the death rattle of democracy.