Keeping the Cons in Check

As is true with most major tragedies in life, it takes more than a couple of weeks to get rid of the blues. Each day is a struggle. When the alarm rings in the morning, it’s suddenly difficult to yank yourself out of bed as an underlying sense of pain and loss grabs at your heart and makes that dreamy delirium you just left seem oh-so-inviting. After the tragedy that befell us on Nov. 2, I’ve barely been able to get out of bed.

For 16 days now I’ve dreaded the coming of the new day. With each sunrise comes the chance for more disagreeable policy from Washington: a new war, more tax cuts for the rich, the end to public education? What hurts even more—probably because I’m not American and thus escape some of the most injurious of domestic policies—is that Bush’s success has cost me my pride. His unfortunate victory has paved the way for a barrage of abuse from the very people who condemned us to this shame: Republicans. Kerry’s loss has damaged my ego more than anything else because at least once a day there’s the chance that some snide conservative might strike, belittling me as they deem me a “whiner” because my candidate didn’t get elected.

But just when I thought it would never abate, I was given a glimmer of hope. It was hope, not so much for America, but for my pride, for my ability to say something in response to the taunt which endlessly repeats in my head like a broken record, “but, the American people actually chose him this time.”

As with the vast majority of Americans, when I’m living in this country, the concept of the world “outside” the United States seems like a foreign and largely absurd concept. But, as I am about to embark on a journey to Europe—yes, unlike most Americans I have a passport—I decided yesterday to check the headlines of some of the most widely-read European newspapers. What was the reaction in the world to this almost inexplicable occurrence which has since ruined my rest? It was to this question that I received my hope.

As I pulled up the first webpage, I managed a half-hearted chuckle as I read that Tony Blair had been forced to use his annual speech on foreign affairs at the Lord Major’s banquet to urge European leaders to stop ridiculing Bush. “It is not a sensible or intelligent response for us in Europe to ridicule American argument or parody their political leadership,” remarked the Prime Minister. Now, while I don’t agree with him and think Americans should be parodied at all times, it is a little humorous that Blair would have to make such an overt statement.

I dug a little deeper into Internet archives, and finally made it to the time of that monumental mistake on Nov. 2. Following the election, German newspaper, Die Zeit—no, Republican readers, it’s not some red rag—ran headlines like, “Warum Wieder Er?” (Why Him Again?) and “Der ungeliebte Sieger” (The Unloved Victor) in the days after the election. One particular article which caught my eye, boasted, “Europeans are bitterly disappointed” about the election result. These didn’t run atop or inside some cynical editorial pieces; they graced the openings of bona fide news articles.

For the Republicans who are snarling at my audacity to bring forth yet another article demonstrating the supposed liberal bias in the media, I’ll happily concede that there were papers running pro-Bush news articles. I might add, however, that these were largely owned by one of two sources: Silvio Berlusconi, the right-wing Prime Minister of Italy, media magnate and wealthiest man in the country, who is currently faced with bribing charges; or the infamous Rupert Murdoch, known to British political magazine Private Eye as the “Dirty Digger.”

But how does all this help out the poor people here, suffering the wrath of gloating red-staters? Well, it provides a retort. I am perfectly content to stop complaining about the election results, but it will come at a price. If I forego my right to whine about this poor excuse of a president, then Republicans alike shall have to stop whining about the fact that the rest of the world is anti-American.

If Republicans weren’t so caught up defending their president, they might spend a little time thinking about why their country is the laughing stock of the rest of the world. Hopefully that might lead to a few less “unilateral” decisions and a little more consideration about the best interests of all of humanity.

Bede A. Moore ’06, a Crimson editorial editor, is a history concentrator in Winthrop House.