This is the end...

Well, the election mayhem is finally over. Earlier this week Kerry conceded the election and Bush gave his acceptance speech. I think the scariest thing about the post-election happenings for me is that Bush's administration has repeatedly used the word "mandate" to describe this election. I'm afraid that in his second term, Bush will strive to cater more to the tastes of his conservative Christian base, whose values do not necessarily represent those of the people who gave him their votes. In nationwide exit polls, almost two-thirds of voters supported some kind of legalized gay marriage or civil union, which shows that these conservative values are not necessarily supported by the majority vote that Bush earned. I feel as though this election represented again a situation in which too many citizens were choosing "between the lesser of two evils."
Instead of seeing this as part of a greater problem in America, Bush's predicted push towards the right in his second term could further polarize the nation, creating an even worse political environment than we already have. Another issue I have with this election is that the media and the Republican party have billed this victory as one that was built on morality, indicating that Republican voters voted based on morality and Democrats did not. I take offense to this because I happen to feel that religion and morality should not be so easily confused, as I happen to feel that I have a strong set of morals but a minimal influence of faith. I cannot understand how these religious ideals that voters expressed at the polls can be even considered morality, as they are exclusive of large groups of people (gays most predominantly), and in a sense more violent than the Democratic ideals (voting for aggressive foreign policy rather than diplomatic). This is something that would indicate again a greater problem in America, which is that the media can very easily control which side of an issue we see, as even the majority of democrats have conceded that this "push for morality" is what has given the Republicans such an edge. I would argue that it is more the difference in religious influence on the sphere of politics and the difference in lifestyle that have separated so clearly the two parties in our country, and this is something we must work to fix now, before our country is torn apart by this ever-expanding political divide.