I couldn’t help but overhear the following on election night: “Yes, we won! It’s about time.”
I find myself confused. About time for what? I presume change, but what change will we see over two years? Certainly the media’s grandstanding will dominate the headlines for the next few weeks, but once their ratings drop and they again begin to report on the “news,” what REAL change can we expect?
Will the fighting in Iraq suddenly come to an end? Will the Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites realize that the Democrats are now in control and set aside their differences? Are the troops on their way home? Are the millions of illegal Mexican immigrants making a mass exodus back across our open and unguarded southern border? Have the “working poor” found better jobs and moved up the social ladder to join the rest of society? Do we suddenly have a comprehensive and complete national health-care plan?
In so many words, no.
On Nov. 8, the country woke up unchanged. The electorate went on with their lives with the very same lack of enthusiasm they had the day before. Life in America remained the same.
More people will die in Iraq and our troops will remain on the ground. Mexicans will still pile over our border like lemmings off a cliff and the poor will remain perpetually indebted to our broken and highly inefficient welfare society. And no, we won’t have a national health-care system.
Election Day’s shift in power amounts to an old woman, with broken ideals and ineffectual leading capabilities taking helm of our House of Representatives and driving us through the mud and into the future.
She will bitch, whine and complain about the current situation, yet nothing will change. Actually, her copious amounts of complaints will amount to the only tangible change we will see.
As everyone sobers up from election night, people will soon realize that without compromise, change is impossible. Anyone who proceeds forward without bipartisan support will find a large and impassable veto stamp blocking their path.
I think we can all look forward to a lot of hand wringing and old people yelling at each other over the next two years. Woo Hoo! I for one can hardly wait.
Scott Nordholm
Civil engineering senior