Optimistic for the future

Dear Mr. Hanson,

On behalf of the liberal element of our society, I’d liketo thank you for your advice regarding our current state ofaffairs. It is true that many of us who had thrown our lives intocampaigning for local and national progressive candidates over thepast few months were greatly distressed on Wednesday morning,myself included. But as I began to pick up the pieces and look atthe big picture, I’ve found that there are many reasons forDemocrats and like-minded thinkers to feel optimistic about ourplace in society:

We have finally seen that a northern liberal can put up a closefight on a national stage. Since John F. Kennedy in 1960, everyDemocrat that has made it to the White House was a southernmoderate. And the northern liberals who ran during that time werebeaten badly (Walter Mondale in 1984 only won one state —Minnesota, his home). Conservative spinsters routinely tried topaint John Kerry as “the No. 1 liberal in the Senate.”And he still got the second-most votes of any presidentialcandidate in history! Imagine what would’ve happened if theDemocrats ran Wesley Clark or even John Edwards at the front of theticket this year.

President Bush’s victory was the narrowest win for anyincumbent president since Woodrow Wilson in 1916. Democrats alsopicked up a net gain of three state legislative chambers this year,and held the Republicans’ majority in the Senate to under thefilibuster-proof 60 seat mark. This does not represent aconservative mandate. This reflects what our media has been tellingus all along: the country is deeply and evenly divided. If Mr. Bushtakes these next four years and uses them to push even more extremeconservative policies, there will be a public outcry greater thanany he has seen.

Twenty-two percent of the electorate cited “moralvalues” as the most important issue to them for thiselection. That’s good; it shows that people do care if ourcountry is creating good or evil in this world. However, ittroubles me to see what these moral values have become.

Mr. Hanson, evidently we share the same source for our faith asthe president does, so can you explain to me how Mr. Bush takes themaxim from Jesus to “Love your enemies, and pray for thosewho persecute you” and turns it into 5,000-15,000 Iraqicivilian deaths? I can’t imagine Jesus ordering bombing runsof civilian targets, or signing the death certificates of 155 DeathRow inmates while Governor of Texas (more than any other electedofficial in U.S. History), or not protecting women’s livesand health in a bill to ban partial birth abortion.

Gay rights advocates may have faced a setback with the passageof 11 state constitutional bans on gay marriage, but they are farahead of where they were at this point in the 2000 campaign. TheSupreme Court has mandated that states can’t criminalizehomosexuality, and polling shows that at least 60 percent of thecountry favors some form of legal recognition for gay couples,whether it be marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships.President Bush himself has even come out and said he wouldn’tbe opposed to such recognition, in an Oct. 26 interview withCharles Gibson on “Good Morning America:” “Statesought to be able to have the right to pass … laws thatenable people to you know, be able to have rights, likeothers.”

Though typically ambiguous, the fact that the chief conservativeof our country would favor civil unions clearly represents a stepforward for those who value equality, and shows that even theRepublicans have shifted left from where they were 12 yearsago.

Mr. Hanson, I can tell that equality in marriage is an issuethat troubles you greatly. You mentioned it four separate times inyour column. I’m not sure how two men tying the knot willbring about the destruction of American society, especially whenthe divorce rate is so high, the average American child is woefullybehind their European counterpart and poverty and unemployment keepgoing up. I was more disgusted sitting through my aunt’sthird wedding three winters ago than by seeing Rosie and herpartner finally be able to legally solidify their vows for thefirst time in San Francisco this year.

However, we as Americans are free to disagree, and I’mquite willing to discuss my views on the subject at greater lengthwith you. I value your opinions and your rights, as I hope you domine. I truly hope you don’t see me as a second-class citizensimply because of whom nature has decided I am attracted to. Maybeyou even see homosexuality as a sin, but I also think you mightagree that when two people have spent the past 30 years of theirlives in love together, they should be allowed to visit each otherin the hospital. Democrats don’t ask for a “homosexualdefinition of marriage;” indeed, many Democrats, includingSen. Kerry, believe that marriage is between one man and one woman.However, most Americans, whether Democrat or Republican,don’t want to see unfair discrimination against anybody, andI believe that the laws our government passes during the next fouryears will reflect that.

So, I guess you can see why I feel optimistic about the currentstate of liberal thought in our society. Democrats are at a greatpotential to pick up seats in the House and the Senate in the 2006elections, and the President will be held accountable by ourleaders, both old, like Sen. Kerry, and new, like the energetic,upbeat Sen. Barack Obama. Mr. Hanson, this country is moreprogressive than it was 12 years ago. And, whether under aRepublican or a Democrat, I think its people will continue thattrend.

Josh Skees is a sophomore cinema/television and politicalscience double major as well as the co-president of Spectrum andthe technology chair for the SMU Democrats. He may be reached [email protected].