Choosing president not like cheering your team

Breeze Perspectives

We all remember the atmosphere around campus throughout the entire Yankees/Red Sox series. Emotions were running extremely high, and neither side wanted to see their team lose. The loser and their fans were guaranteed to be humiliated for failing to achieve the victory they had spent millions on in 2004. I, an admitted Yankees fan, did not enjoy watching my team lose. I felt terrible, and it was impossible to escape those gloating Sox fans. But, I could always reassure myself that it was just a game and that we would have our shot at the title again next year. Win or lose, it was just a game.

Now, reread that last paragraph and replace the word "Yankees" with Kerry and "Red Sox" with Bush. The paragraph makes complete sense until you reach the sentence about me being able to reassure myself that it’s just a game – because the election is not a game. If you look at how people acted and reacted to the election, it is — unfortunately — almost impossible to distinguish the two. There were cars driving down the street honking, people out on balconies shouting and high-fiving each other, and a general attitude of "take that" by people supporting President Bush. All this while Kerry supporters pondered how this could happen, dreading the taunts they surely will receive from Republicans the next day and hoping that some ruling will be announced that can overturn the outcome.

With that in mind, let me pose a question to you: If taxes go up, if there is another terrorist attack or if there is a draft, will people who supported Kerry start throwing parties and jeering at all the people who supported Bush? Will everyone be overjoyed that the other "team" is not doing well? No. This is the fatal flaw with our media and with our general attitude throughout the election process, because we’re all lead by the same team now. Everyone needs to stop acting like fans and start being supporters. Political groups are presented as sports teams now, but you support your party and you vote for a candidate. The media airs shows like "Crossfire" and "Hardball" which are designed to split people — to make them hate the other side. What we forget is that people are benevolent in nature when it comes to their species, and nobody wants to hurt this country or the people in it. As someone who supported Kerry, I can honestly say that I have no bitter indignation, and I refuse to be stubborn over the next four years. The next time you come across someone from the opposite party (meaning Democrats or Republicans, because I’m not going to even touch the flawed two-party system in this article), don’t close your mind to what they have to say, doing so fuels this media system that keeps people out of touch with one another.

I’m not telling everyone to support Bush, but instead accept his presidency and voice your opinions on how to better society. We need to unite as a generation, because we are the future of this country. The media keeps us from discerning what should be done and forces people to divide on every possible issue in order to create competition and controversy so that shows like "Crossfire" can exist. Those who turn politics into a sport are stepping in the wrong direction, and holding back the progress of all mankind.

Cory Reyman is a sophomore finance major.