So, it looks like George Bush has won.
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I felt physically sick the moment I realised this was so.
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Presumably, all those pressing military reasons for delaying bloody offensive action in Iraq will miraculously disappear now and there'll be Daisy Cutters popping on the streets of Fallujah tomorrow night.
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Ordinarily, non Americans should not and do not care that much about American elections. It's not their business. Many of us care this time because America, under George Bush, has stuck its nose in lots of other countries' business. In the UK this takes the form of sending a few journalists to cover stories in America. In America this takes the form of blowing the shit out of any country it feels like; on the basis that 'America Good. Other places Bad'. World politics distilled to a level suitable for four year olds.
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I love America and Americas; at least I used to. I'm having real trouble coming to terms with the re-election of George Bush. Even if you accept the World Terror Global View bullshit, it still stuns me that over half of the US population voted for Bush. George Bush is ...
- a man who claims to be Commander in Chief material yet he dodged military service and continued to read a story about a pet goat after being informed his country was under attack
. - a man who made war on one country, Iraq, even though America had been attacked by people from a different country, Saudi Arabia
. - a man who spent $5m so that he could fly over an aircraft carrier with the words 'Mission Accomplished' formed on the deck by its crew. Mission not accomplished George
. - A man who professes to be Christian yet wages unprovoked war
The Christianity issue bothers me the most. There's a real millennial feel to the staggering degree of difference between what Christianity is about and what is being done in its name. George Bush represents a blasphemous, evil strain of Christianity that has nothing to do with the teachings of the Gospels. In that respect he mirrors Islamic fundamentalists perfectly. George Bush is not alone. There are millions of Americans who profess to be Christian yet totally, and I mean totally, reject the teachings of Jesus. What happened to the path of non-violence, compassion and disarming your enemies with love? These supposed Christians have a hard-on for the Old rather than the New Testament. Fans of Deuteronomy would approve.
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If there is such a state as Christian Hell, a lot of those people will surely end up there. The teachings of Christianity say that it is better to live and die a pagan savage than to hear the Word of the Lord and follow a perversion of its teachings. I recall reading a couple of articles that said The Pope, sick as he is, is determined to hang onto life specifically because he believes that George Bush is the Antichrist's representative on Earth and must be opposed by a man of True Faith. So much for the thoughtful Christian vote then.
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And yes, the future of the entire World lay in the hands of a few thousand voters in Ohio. Ohio! Early on in its coverage, the BBC sent a reporter to a bar in Columbus somewhere. The reporter interviewed a series of people to ask them how they voted. Most were drunk and the rest were working on being drunk. No-one interviewed gave a rational explanation to support the way they voted; either for Kerry or for Bush. I got the distinct impression that no Space Shuttle launches or cancer cures were being delayed by those people being in that bar. The reporter closed the piece by saying, without the slightest trace of irony, 'Well, there you have it. It looks like Ohio will be pretty tight tonight'.
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I shouldn't be too hard on America - the UK will almost certainly re-elect it's own blood-stained lunatic chimp bozo leader next year some time.
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We live in terrible times. Do any of us, Americans and non Americans, really look forward to a better future for ourselves or the World?
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