America under red alarm

On the night of Nov. 2, the projected results of the presidential election spoke eloquently. America was a red carpet with some blue stripes at the borders.

The electoral map usually looks the same every four years but this time I interpreted the red color as an alarm zone.

Suddenly, I had the image of a split America: the red states were the crusaders of moral values while the blue states were the implorers for economic change.

The problem is, the majority of people might believe George W. Bush received a striking victory but the reality of facts suggests something different.

While 80 percent of Americans who voted for Bush claimed to have based their decision on moral issues as the election’s most relevant issue, 80 percent voted for Kerry claiming the economy as a priority.

Just by looking at this result, I could only corroborate two thoughts. The first is that Bush supporters have gone to the polls thinking that their president is a moral leader and therefore they should base their political priority on moral issues.

I just wonder how we can formulate our voting decisions when other issues deserve better attention.

The second one is the sad realization of the moral divide of America, a nation I always portrayed as morally liberal and open-minded. Evidently, this election was the rejection of my initial thought.

At the epilogue of this election, I just want to take my time to express my gratitude to Bush. Congratulations Mr. President. Through the mutual correspondence between you, the evangelicals and the catholics, you’ve succeeded in convincing Americans that moral issues are at stake.

I also want to thank all the religious groups who claimed that the country’s morality is declining.

I think Dr. James C. Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family and evangelical protestant, is worth mentioning. He said he believes America is on the way of “self-destruction.” But through active involvement of evangelicals, protestants and catholics he’s convinced that God is giving the nation a sign of relief.

People like Dobson believe the Bush administration needs to be more insistent in recuperating the moral values they think the nation is losing.

I would be happier if I had heard through months of campaigning what Bush and his team meant by the nation’s lack of morality, what they planned to restore morality or at least what their definition of morality is.

The merry union among the religious groups and the Republicans has reinforced the sense of conservatism of the country and has produced a new team of Republicans in Congress who could probably do a better job as preachers of obscurantism than politicians of the 21st century.

Maureen Dowd’s column “The Red Zone” gives a clear yet horrifiying picture of the new political leaders.

I think it’s vital for some of the people who voted for Bush to take a closer look at some senators.

James DeMint, new 14 elected senator from South Carolina, said he would not allow gays to teach in public schools.

Tom Coburn, senator from Oklahoma, said he believes doctors should be punished with the death penalty if they allow a woman to abort.

During his campaign, Coburn reported “rampant lesbianism” in Oklahoma schools. I hope DeMint and Coburn were just telling jokes during the campaigns because I would be shocked if they were serious.

So the image is now clear. Bush won by drawing attention to issues that shouldn’t be prioritized.

My word now goes to the Americans who voted for Bush on moral issues. Most of them, 60 percent, are churchgoers and most of them make up the red carpet of the electoral map.

Wake up America. Religion should not have interfered in your voting decision because who governs you is not a theocrat but a person who should strengthen the freedom of each individual regardless of age, sex, creed, race or national origin.

Where is such freedom when the government interferes with people’s sexual orientation and their union decisions?

Where is the freedom when a woman victim of rape or incest does not have the possibility of abortion?

Where is the freedom that the separation of church and state, established by the Founding Fathers?

Praising the resurrection of morality brings Bush’s reelection far away from a victory. It’s the surrender of knowledge and progress to the passive acceptance that a religious leader can heal the problems of the country. This is not the America I always dreamt about.

Ivana Corsale is a junior journalism and international studies double major. She may be contacted at [email protected].