Superbowl Tuesday. Oh,
wait.
by Mairwen
Tuesday, November 2, 2004, was our day of reckoning, the day we discovered if we were to be doomed for another four years or not. All viewpoints could be found in the hallways of PFHS, but one could have never guessed the tension and hostility experienced among fellow classmates.
All views were expressed in the days leading up to the election. Of course, there were arguments from both sides; we cannot expect everyone to agree. What is frustrating, however, is the idea that many were spouting their opinions without even knowing what it was they were talking about. Thank God for the wonderous Issue Paper, or many more may not have had a clue for whom or what they were arguing. Even so, the debate continued on for what seemed like forever.
Now, we would be kidding ourselves if we did not acknowledge that the majority of the beloved hell we call Post Falls High School is composed of a conservative, Republican orientation. One could not help notice all the Bush/Cheney pins and anti-Kerry buttons and shirts floating around. The infamous Students Against Kerry shirts were the most common of these. Also known as S.A.K. (yes, S.A.K.), this group of students felt the need to express its disapproval of the non-existent Heinz-Kerry association and even ripped off a saying originally used against their lovely Bush friend: "Somewhere in Massachusetts a village has lost its idiot, and he is trying to beat a Bush," originally, "Somewhere in Texas a village has lost its idiot." Amongst all of this, not one anti-Bush poster or one Students Against Bush pin did anyone see, whether through the smothering one can feel as an effect of being a minority, or through respect for others' opinions.
Often times, the liberals, who make up the minority of the school, would be ambushed with retorts (some not even relevant) as soon as they even thought to express their opinions. Granted, their viewpoints were heard at some point, but were always argued against. For instance, the Heinz-Kerry shirts: One might mention to another who was wearing one of these lovely 100% cotton beauties that Senator John Kerry has absolutely no relation to the Heinz company whatsoever, nor does his wife Teresa. She merely inherited the name from her late husband but had no part in the company at all; she received no profit and had no influence (1). No connection..none. However, once presenting these facts to that which supports the S.A.K, one would get a response along lines of, "Does it look like I care?" The immediate thought would be a hope that one would care about the facts of such an important event, but apparently that did not matter for some.
Numerous times there was reference to Kerry's appearance. And I quote from one student's Issue Paper, "I don't think I would want to vote for someone who looks like a horse's face smashed in." Is this even relevant? If we have stooped to the level of electing a man for his appearance, then maybe the American people should not be given the privilege to choose our leader. This is not a joke; our President affects the way in which we live our daily lives. Some people still cannot make this connection. It seems that maybe (more like definitely) we should be focusing on the abilities of such a person. Like the ability to speak English. We want someone who is going to represent the American people in a positive way- someone intelligent who will not give the impression to the rest of the world that we are all brain-dead idiots. After all, if our President cannot even speak correctly, why should they think the rest of us can? Is not our President supposed to be a man of power, guidance, and INTELLECT?
At any rate, we all have our arguments for who was the best candidate (and it is pretty obvious what the opinion of the author is). The students of the school obviously had their differences in opinions, and they had the right to such. No one was wrong or right; people have their opinions and always will. However, it was after the election ended that one may have become disappointed with the actions of the students.
On Wednesday, one may have realistically expected a joyous reaction from the conservative point of view. Fair enough; one should be allowed to rejoice whenhe or she thinks the right choice was made. But, there is a line that was crossed between being happy and being disrespectful towards others' opinions. Though they had already won, many still felt the need to wear their anti-Kerry shirts or Bush/Cheney pins. Many felt the need to rub it in to the faces of their fellow schoolmates and even their friends. Random shouts were heard in the hallways of, "Bush won!" and, "Kerry sucks!" It is sad when such a large number of people (people who represent the future of our country, actually) will treat one of the most important events in American history as if it was a competition of the playful sort. It seemed as if the Bush supporters had just won a bet at the Superbowl. It was not a time for someone to be happy for their country because the right choice had been made; it was time to celebrate because you beat the little guy, and your side won.
More than a few liberals who could be found in our school said that if Kerry had won, the reaction would not have been the same. Though many others find this hard to believe (and we will truly never know for sure) they insist that they would have celebrated in a way which did not involve the reducing of their peers to losers because they bet on the wrong team. This is not what America is supposed to be about. We are supposed to be one unit- the UNITED States of America. The actions of our school reflect the America we have had the past four years and will most likely have for another four. This division is not only present in our school. Our country is divided, while our dear Mr. Bush keeps preaching to us that he will be a "uniter, not a divider." We have yet to see this. How is our school supposed to be united when the leader of our country says that "if you're not with us, you're against us?" This kind of unification needs to come from a place of authority, and Bush has not shown us that he can provide that. We need to learn to live with each other in a peaceful way; how else will we learn to live with the rest of the world in a peaceful way?
It is realized that our school is just a tiny blip on the radar of our country, but if it can happen here, it is sure to have happened elsewhere. We need to start growing up and acknowledging that there are bigger things at work here. So Republicans, be happy, but refrain from making others feel insignificant just because Kerry did not win. It is not a competition. If the right choice was made, we will find out over the next four years, but rest assured, that if this proves to be false, those of us who saw it from the beginning will never say, "I told you so" as we mend your wounds from the war, give you your food stamps, and try, once again, to set this country right.