This election somehow calls to mind the advice given by the Morgan Freeman character in "The Shawshank Redemption" the excellent film based on the Stephen King novel.
Freeman plays the wise old lifer who advises the new convict, Dufresne, played by Tim Robbins, who is falsely, of course, convicted of murder and beginning to serve his sentence, on how to survive in his new environment...life in prison.
The old convict, who has abandoned hope, advises Dufresne that he'd best abandon hope, too, if he wishes to survive.
That may seem the realistic thing to do when the circumstances have gone against you and remedying them is beyond your power.
Dufresne ignores the advice, however, and this gives life to the story, which is how he manages to survive and overcome his environment, by escaping and making a life for himself.
Some of us may be disappointed in the outcome of the election, and trace its causes to "the protracted legal process" known as Bush v. Gore, but that isn't going to get us over, or under, the walls, is it.
We must carry on and do our best to pursue and promote worthwhile goals.
Sen. Kerry is now saying, as he concedes defeat, that he called Pres. Bush to congratulate him on his victory and they spoke of the need to emphasize the things that we have in common, to de-emphasize the differences magnified by the campaign.
This sounds good, of course, but with an administration that lost the popular vote last time but nevertheless felt it had a clear-cut mandate to swing the country to the right, finding common ground is apt to be difficult.
It's apt to be even more difficult when the victor has won both the popular and electoral college votes, for his mandate, in contrast, is likely to seem overwhelming, especially if we keep hearing about this war on terrorism that seems to have been used primarily to keep his supporters jacked up to provide a high level of support for the questionable war in Iraq that is now costing so many American and Iraqi lives after the collapse of Saddam's army.
We were hurt badly on 9-11, in a deadly triple attack that killed thousands of innocent civilians on our home ground.
We needed to attack Al Qaeda training grounds in Afghanistan and to pursue Osama Bin Laden, who was behind the attacks.
We need to keep after Al Qaeda and all of its new supporters since the invasion of Iraq.
Whether we need call the triple acts of terrorism, not repeated, a war, and the president a 'war president,' after the election season, because he invaded Iraq, may be open to debate.
Like Dufresne, we must never give up hope, and continue to fight the good fight.
We may come again to feel that this is the land of the free, where democracy means elections uninfluenced by the power of judicial review. That is the hope.
Kerry has pledged his support to this effort.
Will Pres. Bush follow through in the same spirit, as a uniter, not a divider, a compassionate leader, or an in-your-face antagonist?
An early test is apt to be seen when Supreme Court justices begin retiring, and we see the kind of nominees Pres. Bush puts forward.
If he nominates moderates, there's hope.
If Bush nominates Bork-types, which I believe he will, the fight will be on, and I'm eying the pick and mallet.
Tap, tap, tap...