Election 2004

By Talat G. Hamdani
Bayside, NY


The campaign and elections of 2004 maybe over, but the resolve of the people to restore democracy and re-unite a deeply divided nation lives on. This election will go down in history as the awakening call to the complacent Americans. The nation is divided in two solid blocs: the Reds and The Blues, each with its own ideology, thus creating a deeper schism along numerous paths, ominously reminiscent of the Civil War era.

Chris Matthews of Hard Ball stated that America geographically resembles the map of India and Pakistan at the time of partition, 1947, India being embraced with West Pakistan and East Pakistan on either coast. I hope you all saw America on Ice at The Democracy Plaza. Have you ever seen such a symbolic statement before in the past few decades? Why the need now? Is it that New York was celebrating democracy, or is it that democracy is in jeopardy in America? Let’s pray America does not meet with the same fate as that of Pakistan.

It’s scary to understand the demography of our nation. All the Central States and the South voted red or Republican, while the North East and North West voted blue or Democratic. The difference is not only in the visual colors; the divide is much deeper, more profound and entails serious consequences.

The total electoral votes are 538, and a candidate needs 270 or more electoral votes to win. President Bush won by winning 286 electoral votes, but only 51% of popular vote. And this is significant and has rung an alert signal for the nation. The Republicans won and so did their values and opinions.

The Republicans won on the issues of fear, terrorism and the conservative values of the Christian beliefs and the Evangelicals. It’s disconcerting and alarming to see that 51% did not agree with the 48%. The trump card for the winning party was terrorism and the Bin Ladin factor. Talking about Christian values, what happened to the value of love thy neighbor as you love yourself? I guess we are not their neighbors. How can one be Christian and yet advocate war in the name of democracy and liberty?

The Democrats or the Liberals lost on their progressive values. Paradoxically, the losing party still won morally: on the grounds of peace moral courage and humanity. They lost because they advocated stem cell research to benefit mankind and save lives. They lost because they advocated peace versus war. They lost because they advocated life versus death. They lost because they advocated hope versus despair. They lost because they advocated civil rights versus the Patriot Act. And this is a victory, not a defeat. The elections may be over, not the campaign. The campaign has just begun.

A nation divided almost equally along cultural, religious, political and ideological beliefs is standing on thin ice. As the famous Republican President Abraham Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” So let us all unite in the best interest of our nation. Let us all forget our political, cultural, ethnical and religious differences and stand together to achieve the American Dream.

Let us keep working towards achieving a better America, a fairer America, a more just and tolerant America. In this campaign of 2004, seeds have been laid for a vision of America, a country with liberty and justice for all. As Senator Kerry expressed, “In an American election, there are no losers, because whether or not our candidates are successful, the next morning we all wake up as Americans. That is the greatest privilege and the most remarkable good fortune that can come to us on planet earth. With that gift comes obligation. We are required now to work together for the good of our country. In the days ahead, we must find common cause. We must join in common effort, without remorse or recrimination, without anger or rancor. America is in need of unity and longing for a larger measure of compassion.

Our fight goes on to put America back to work… to achieve equality, to push the frontiers of science and discovery and to restore America’s reputation in the world.”


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Editor: Akhtar M. Faruqui
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