Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was.

Now that many of us ardent supporters of political change in this country
are getting over the shock that we will need to endure four more years of the Bush Administration, we are soldiering on. Living to fight another day for a more humane, compassionate, and visionary Political Leader to take charge of this ship of state. Although the fight has left many of us, the battle does go on. Despite President Bush's claim of having a "mandate," or of having "political capital," he won by a simple majority. These is still much to be done here in this country for the American people, and we are still at war in a far off land, with American soldiers and Marines still becoming casualties in war that was waged for dubious reasons. Yes, President Bush was reelected, but don't mistake the tyranny of the majority for a stamp of approval from the real majority of the American electorate.

Now, the President has said that he'll "reach out" to all those who did not vote for him, but didn't he make that same promise in 2000? He once proclaimed that he was a "Uniter, not a Divider," but I think we all know just how polarizing his Administration has been in the past four years. Why would we or should we really expect things to be all that different? I don't really think that any Democrats expect things to be any change from President Bush, and in all honesty, I don't really think Republicans expect and grand gestures to heal the rift that exist between Conservatives and Liberals, either. One really has to ponder just how we got to this point in our political lives. I think the seeds for this ideological divide was planted during the Reagan Years, when Conservative gained their Patron Saint in the form of Ronald Reagan. And I think we all know that things just came to a head during the eight year reign of Bill Clinton. The amount of animus that was shown towards Bill Clinton, a President who was just as popular to the American public as Ronald Reagan, was beyond belief. President Clinton was dogged by politically conservative Witch Hunters almost from Day One of his Presidency. Those years were just so politically polarizing that the American psyche was deeply scarred. Now, we are just a house divided into Red states and Blue States.

Well, there is no reason to debate this now. The reality of the situation is that we will have four more years of the Status Quo.We will continue to watch the steady erosion of our relations with our Allies around the World, as we continue our march to American militarism as Diplomacy. We will still have to run the risk of watching our civil liberties erode under an increasingly conservative Supreme Court. President Bush is actually in a very real position to put two to three more Justices on the highest Court in the land, and that could effect our civil and constitutional rights for many, many years to come. And of course the issues of our economy, our environment, and our standing as a leader in the free democracies of the World are all still in the balance. Yeah, the battle from Democrats still goes on, even in the wake of the Status Quo.

For my part, I'm still going to get up everyday, go to work, and try to live the promise of the American Dream. I will still think twice about the political double speak that comes from Washington. I will still read between the lines of the message our Leaders give us on their reasons for war and conflict. I will still support the efforts of truly dedicated public servants whom try to promote a fair and representative political atmosphere. And I will always, always support the great social discourse that we all should participate in, because we're all in this together. We must all continue to work for a society that promotes the general welfare of our citizens, the prosperity of our people, and greatness of our nation.

To all of my kindred Democrats I say do NOT despair. Our cause is Just, the Faith endures, and our Battle goes on. Keeping working for change, and surely a change is gonna come. Brush yourselves off, pickup your spirits, and start planning for the next four years. Remember, the only really mandate that we need to care about is the mandate for change.


Christopher M. Vaughn,
Registered Voter & Illinois Resident Christopher Vaughn

Christopher Vaughn, an Alumnus of the University of Illinois, has been working in the field of Social Services with various Community-Based nonprofit organization. He is currently working as a Coordinator of Employment and Education Outreach Programs for a Social Service agency in Chicago, Illinois. Mr.Vaughn remains an ardent Advocate for social justice programs in the community. He can bew reached at papertiger62@aol.com

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