The intersection at the northwest corner of UF is a high traffic area where many different citizens go to express their opinions to those people driving by. Sometimes it’s people concerned about some bill or other passing into law, or not. Sometimes its Hare Krishnas dancing while Christians wave signs at them from across the street. Near elections you often get people who support so-and-so for the local office of such-and-such. Honestly I usually just tune out the proclamations of these impassioned citizens, trying to sway community at large with their beliefs.
With the upcoming Presidential elections, the corners have been full with people who support one presidential candidate or another, usually one of the main two parties. Sometimes you will see Bush supporters on one corner and Kerry supporters on another. Sometimes you will even get people out with signs that don’t advocate a candidate but rather slam one.
I had the unfortunate luck to have to cross the street at that intersection two days ago. It was about a quarter to six in the evening, and the rush hour traffic was dying down. As usual when I come across a large group of people whom I think are going to try to convert me to their way of thinking by waving their sign in my face or, even worse, by trying to engage me in conversation, I had my sunglasses on and looked straightforward to avoid possible eye contact. With the high emotions this upcoming election has brought, I even employed an added defense. I was singing to myself in Japanese.
I reached the first corner of my journey across the intersection. There were three college age guys holding Bush / Cheney signs. I successfully avoided engaging them at all. I pushed the button to cross, north first, which would then be followed by crossing east to get to my bus stop. Looking north towards the Starbucks, I saw a lone man holding two signs. One that said, “Stop the BuSHIT” and another that depicted a person (Designated as US citizens perhaps? Perhaps Bush? I didn’t look that closely.) with an American flag on a pole protruding from his cartoon butt.
The light changed, and I stopped singing when I realized the Bush sign holders were crossing the street in front of me. We reached the corner where the anti-bush supporter was in an argument with what looked to have been a random passer by. I remained behind the Bush fans, and let them shield me from the argument. I was afraid they’d join in the fray shortly and did not want to be caught in the middle.
The passerby was clad in a gray shirt, camouflage pants and was holding the matching jacket. He was telling the sign holder something along the lines of having a family at home he had to take care of. I did not hear the anti-Bush supporter’s reply (I was, in fact, actively trying to ignore them), but the army clad gentlemen raised his voice in retort, “You know, that sign of yours is so typical of your party,” he said pointing at the picture with the flag. His attacks continued, and the Bush supporters whom I had followed across the street joined in. The anti-Bush supporter started getting loud, and I was afraid a fistfight would break out. While I am a trained martial artist and a black belt to boot, I am sorely out of shape and out of practice, and even if I wasn’t, there is no way I could separate 5 grown men if it came to blows. I also refrained from adding my two-cents worth, fearing it would only escalate the situation.
Luckily the light changed, and I quickly passed the trio holding signs, and reached the safety of the other side of the street. There was another guy there, watching the battle across the way, who turned to comment to me that he couldn’t wait until next week because then it would all be over. I agreed.
On the bus ride home I wondered what I would have said if I hadn’t crossed the street when I did. It probably would have come out “Hey, calm down. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. That’s what democracy is all about.” I don’t know if that would have diffused the situation any, but if it did, I would have known they were only words to calm down men who were getting quick to anger.
I do not believe the system we live in is a democracy. Our country is so large, it simply can’t be. I have heard we are a democratic republic, and that is the term I use when I describe our political system. I do not believe we should be trapped in the confines of a two party system; and even though we do have members from other parties, the reality is that fear and ignorance keep us within the two primary party lines. I do not believe the Electoral College is appropriate any longer the way that it is. I think that within a state, if the populace vote is split, the Electoral College votes should be split by percentage to better reflect the people’s vote.
It saddens me that the state of our country is such that people I know are ashamed of it sometimes. As people we are decent, but as a nation, I think we are obnoxious and need to learn to admit when we are wrong. We are not the end-all, be-all in the world, and we shouldn’t be. It also saddens me that people are so concerned about their country and its future that they lose sight and think that yelling at one another in the streets about campaign signs or particular campaign issues that have been beaten into the ground by the candidates are actually going to change the world. I would love to see these same people in a forum, discussing intelligently the pros and cons each of the multitude of candidates has to offer, so they could the leave well-informed, make their vote, and change the face of their country.
But I know this is an unrealistic dream. As such, I just place my assurance that in a week it will be over for now, and perhaps our streets will be a little quieter.