I'm dissapointed by the election. Not so much with the outcome as with the choices we had and with the reaction some Kerry supporters are having. Neither candidate was one I felt worthy of my vote. Just as the nation was divided, I suspect many voters were similarly filled with trepidation and mixed emotions as they pulled their particular levers of choice. I suspect that even the most ardent supporter of either candidate, if they are truly honest with themselves, must have had at least a few moments of doubt.

It amazes me, then, to read the many vitriolic comments by people whose choice didn't match the majority vote. By far the most common summation is the characterization of the voting majority as "stupid". Obviously, most people in the US are not stupid. Rather, it is the use of such broad brushstrokes to caricaturize the majority of the voting public in simplistic, one-dimensional terms that is not merely ignorant, but actively stupid.

Those who voted took the time to think about things and spent the effort to go to their polling place and contribute the product of their thought to the future of our country. The same cannot be said for the 100 million registered voters who did not vote. I hope that the people who are expressing their dissatisfaction with the outcome will reflect on how close the vote was and on how each voter may have felt similar ambivilance. Rest assured, not everyone who voted for Bush (or, more precisely, against Kerry) is by any means in favor of many of his policies. A choice had to be made, and for many it was a choice of lesser evil. And not by much.