Today we have a choice to make. That choice hinges on one question: Do we want change?
If you believe that everything is going swimmingly here at home and in the rest of the world, then cast your vote for the incumbent, Bush. It baffles me, though, that anyone could be satisfied with the present state of affairs.
One needs only to look back at the last four years to realize that a change is in order. The economy has taken a drastic nose-dive during this president’s tenure, and it has yet to significantly rebound. We went from having a budget surplus just before Bush took office to an outlandish multi-trillion dollar debt.
The war on terror and the war in Iraq have strained our resources. Let’s think about why that is. The United States is shouldering almost the entire burden for this international conflict. We are responsible for 90 percent of the cost, and U.S. troops account for 90 percent of the so-called “Allied” casualties. That doesn’t seem like much of an alliance to me. Bush has squandered away what were very strong alliances with world leaders.
The Bush administration has responded to the struggling economy by giving tax cuts to rich people, like themselves, and sending more and more lower-to-middle-class young people to Iraq to fight a war for oil. And instead of setting a goal to find an alternative energy source, so we are not dependent on Middle Eastern oil, Bush committed NASA to going to Mars. Is there oil on Mars?
While we’re sinking money into our lackluster space agency to take us to a different planet, we can’t even provide adequate medical care for our own citizens. Why are we one of the only modern, post-industrial, information-age nations without socialized health care?
The United States doesn’t look much better in foreign affairs, either. The war in Iraq has been mismanaged. I agree that Saddam Hussein had to be taken out of power, but you don’t just jump into this pit of vipers without using a little foresight and planning. Bush had an efficient and effective plan for going in and taking Saddam out. But he had absolutely no plan for what to do with the Iraqi people or the troops afterward. That plan continues to be thrown together on-the-fly, and meanwhile Iraq grows more and more volatile.
And what of the 300-some-odd tons of missing explosives? You would think a prudent person would have said, “Yeah, we messed up. But we’re going to take care of it and find the missing bombs.” But no, the Bush administration’s response was something to the effect of: “Oh, yeah, they’ve been missing for a long time. We just hoped you wouldn’t find out about it.” That’s not an answer.
Americans are paying the price for Bush’s mistakes, even though he refuses to admit them. Bush continues to make decisions that put Americans in precarious situations. His administration continually makes an effort to leave us all in the dark about them. In a way, though, we’re paying for our own mistake; after all, we elected him, right? The only price left for Bush to pay should be a toll on the turnpike as he leaves D.C.
The bottom line is our nation and the world is in a worse place than it was four years ago. Bush’s short-sighted mismanagement of domestic and foreign affairs has put almost every aspect of our lives in worse condition than it was before he took office.
Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost. Health care is in a state of chaos. And we are less safe, here and abroad. Bush has chosen to focus on fighting a war far removed from those responsible for Sept. 11. While we’re focused on Iraq, more predators are sharpening their claws behind our backs.
So it baffles me that Bush is leading slightly in the polls. My only hope is that many newly registered voters, most of which were young people, did not vote in 2000. But the record numbers of registered voters for this election can only make a difference if we all show up at the polls. Young people have an opportunity to make a change for the better. So think of it this way: A vote for Nader is a vote for Bush, and a vote for Kerry is a vote for change.
Nick Thompson is a senior communication major. He can be reached at [email protected].