I’ve noticed something this week. Moreso than I noticed in the week or so after the election. I’ve noticed a LOT of whining.
Not from the Democrats. Not from the people that got hung up at the gates trying to get to the Mall to see the inauguration. Not even from most of the media (and yes, I’m including some conservative media in this). But from Republicans. And not just any Republicans. But the ones who chuckled at the Democrats who were depressed after the election in 2004 and even 2000. I remember vividly hearing Republicans say, “Stop whining!” when Bush was re-elected over Kerry. I recall Republicans teling Democrats to just get used to the fact that Bush was the President instead of Gore in 2000. “It’s better for the country” was the common refrain back then. All this complaining and doomsaying would be bad for our nation. It was divisive.
So… I have to wonder… why are these SAME Republicans whining, wailing, doomsaying and gnashing their teeth now? Is it somehow better in their opinion to complain about an elected leader (and dare I say, a leader elected by a far larger margin of victory) when it’s not someone of their own political party? Becaues that is exactly how it looks. It makes them look like hypocrites. It makes them look petty. And small. And worst of all, small-minded.
I want to beleive the best of people. I really, really do. But I have had it up to here with the double talk. The old “it’s okay for me and mine to do it but if you dare to try it then you’re toast.” And I probably wouldn’t care but people who have thought and believed as I do have been called all the names in the book for the last eight years. We have been called unpatriotic. Simply because we questioned our President’s decisions. Simply because we don’t like the guy. “We’re at war! You need to support our President during a war!” (I could say it’s just as important to support the President during a financial crisis too.) (And not to mention that we’re still at war.)
You know what? No, you don’t. I’m not saying we could/should/etc march on Washington D.C and stage a coup. I’m saying that in the privacy of our homes, among friends/coworkers/people on the street and on our blogs, we should be able to question our government without a group of small-minded individuals questioning our love for our country.
So yes. These whiners, these Republicans who are so very bitter about the new President, are allowed to bitch, moan, whine, complain and doomsay. I’ll defend to the death their right to do so. But I don’t ever want to hear those same people tell me I cannot do the same. Never again.