Understanding a Kerry Vote

For the record: I’m voting for Bush and have never in my adult life been labeled a liberal by anyone worthy of trust. I’m anti & pro all the right causes, at least in the social and cultural spheres. Personally, voting for John Kerry has not once crossed my mind. There’s much about the whole business that I find repulsive and I look forward to the day when saying, “Oh, that’s just politics,” will hold no water among a discerning populace. So, if your main objective, judgments about me, and blood pressure rate find satisfaction in knowing that I am not voting for Kerry — never considered it — and am voting for George Bush, you may wish to read no further. Depart in peace.

That being said, I can understand a Kerry vote.

Born in 1961, I grew up in a turbulent time. A couple years after I was born, the President was assassinated; his brother soon to follow. One summer my TV viewing consisted of pretty much nothing but Watergate hearings. Daily, around dinner time, Vietnam — body bags, soldiers running under enemy fire, agony — was broadcast on all three channels into my home. There were hippies on TV singing about peace and protesting the draft. Laugh-In was a relief and temptation. And …

Well, I guess what I’m saying is: Mine is the first TV generation. From day one, we had a constant cultural companion. And it just so happened that — other than Lunar Landings, the Space Race, Sex, Drugs, and Rock-n-Roll — most of the news involved War: hot and Cold.

I was with the Boy Scouts in Canada when TVs carried an unshakeable image. We were playing volleyball in the gym when one of the Canadian boys came running in saying: “Hey! Your President is resigning!” We all rushed to a TV and watched. We were with boys from other countries, we were only 13 years old, we didn’t know how to act, what to say … But for us Americans the feeling wasn’t good. We didn’t understand it, but our heads hung low.

Gerald Ford. Need I say more?

Okay for those of you answering that rhetorical question in the affirmative, let me just say: Saturday Night Live. In our teens — forgive me, it was a different era — we watched a new show on Saturday nights. Chevy Chase was Gerald Ford … always falling down.

I remember walking in a Charlotte mall (also a new thing) and seeing posters of Jimmy Carter with a halo. People, at least the ones hanging with my folks, were happy and optimistic. Carter was coming on strong, he was a Southerner, a Baptist, and, if you followed the poster’s logic, a form of Saviour. (Face it, there ain’t no Baptist Saints.)

Jimmy Carter. Need I say more?

If you insist … Sigh. As a kid in highschool I remember the anxiety and uneasiness of the Carter years. We seemed weak as a nation. The Soviet Union seemed strong and unbeatable. Our President got on TV and talked of, and I paraphrase, our “national funk”. But, hey, it was fun. We had disco. Freedom, good & bad, abounded. (We were doomed.)

Backing up a bit, I remember when the lights were on on all the porches and the car horns were blowing and people were partying … Our boys were coming home. I remember when they ended the Draft. And I remember the college years of the Cold War …

Reagan. Need I say more?

I won’t comment on George “Senior” or Bill Clinton. Enough has been said about the latter; I’ve no strong opinions about the weak leadership of the former save to say: He won’t no Reagan; missed opportunities with the fall of the Wall … etc.

Now we come to the Dubbya Era. Confusion on Election night, months of spin. Then, the Towers came down, the nation was united, we put on a brave face and entered into battle. Nightly the TV broadcasted War from a far. Unlike the Vietnam “Conflict” we were not subjected to men running through the jungle with stretchers and body bags. Rather, we had “Shock and Awe” — a fireworks display which painted not a portrait of carnage but of light. We only heard reports, eventually, of US casualties. The newspapers were not continually full of the names of war dead. The memories of the Towers began to fade — seems like a life-time ago — but now the continual reports of the casualties mount.

Some people, particularly those in their mid-40’s, are now going through a flash back — some reminiscence which, they believe, mirrors reality. This looks like a familiar monster. Times are similar. The TV still flickers …

As I was flipping through the dial in the kitchen a few months ago my son, Basil, asked to linger on the History Channel. They were showing war footage. He’s very much into that at the moment.

After about 30 minutes of this, his dinner now finished, I said: “Come here, boy.”

I picked him up. Held him. Looked at him (like fathers do).

His six year old face was still glued to the war footage. I said, “I love you. I hope you never have to go to war.”

Without looking at me, he said, “Cause I might get killed, right Daddy?”

“Well, you might get killed or injured … I just hope you don’t have to go to war, son.”

He slowly turned toward me and looking at me with all sincerity said, “But Dad, if the man says ‘Basil Huneycutt,’ … I have to go … right?”

“That’s right, son. You have to go.”

He was three when the Towers came down. He still talks about those images, is drawn to those images … draws those images. He understands nothing at the moment but a Bush vote. But believe me, as I held him that night, my only son, I began to understand a Kerry vote.

This hasn’t as much to do with issues — does it ever? — as it does images. I may be wrong, but it seems to me that many folks younger than me and older than me can only see … a vote for Bush. Those of my generation, in their mid-40s, seem more likely to sport the opposing bumper sticker on their SUV. After all we’ve been through “together“, I understand. I can understand it … all the while believing Kerry’s halo is as phony as Carter’s.

I did not title this posting “Understanding A Vote for Kerry” because I believe many of those votes — particularly those cast by the mid-40 crowd — are likely anti-Bush votes; thus, a “Kerry Vote”.

Someone asks, “Could you understand an Orthodox Christian voting for Kerry?” Fair enough. I’ll say this, a while back I attended a church gathering where there were lots of Arab Christians. When an image of George W Bush was flashed during a slide presentation, there were boos from a large minority. Boos! How could this be? Aren’t they Orthodox? Pro-Life? Etc? Yes, but here again, I could understand. Thanks to the images on the TV, Arabs are bad; bombing them is good. Profiling is bad (officially); judging someone by their ethnic group is … well, unavoidable thanks to the images. (Not to mention our tax dollars paying to bomb their foreign kin.) I imagine the Serbs felt the same way about Clinton. Spoiled white boys in America probably wouldn’t understand.

In Conclusion: I realize that the above article’s reasoning is circular and subjective. It doesn’t include the most recent Superman-stem-cell stuff. It’s probably not well thought out and is certainly not exhaustive. It’s one portion of a sinner’s opinion. In some ways I admire those men who are solid in their support and belief. Perhaps it’s my nature, my age-group, my upbringing — just ME — but I’m not one of them. If you’ve connected all the dots and are wondering about the hues: color my vote for Bush reluctant, hesitant, reserved. Fr John McCuen does a good job of defining his own struggles here … and here … and here. Many of his concerns mirror mine. Don’t get me wrong, as stated at the outset, I’m voting for Bush. My reservations are not due to his character or leadership qualities. I just fear we’re not seeing the whole picture when it comes to Islam, the war, the environment, health care, etc. I ain’t voting “Yes” to the whole kit-and-kabootle. Of necessity, I’m just choosing W over him.

And if you’ve read this far and are wondering why I haven’t mentioned abortion, all I can suggest is: Vote Pro-Life.