If John Kerry had won the election, this article would be about how the battle is not over and that a Democratic victory was only a very small step in the right direction. Now that we have instead taken a giant leap backwards, my article is even more about continuing the fight.

I have spent so much energy over the last four years hating the Bush administration and surrounded myself with so many people who have done the same that I started to believe everyone detested George W.

I haven’t gone a day since Bush took office without hearing someone criticize his policies or stupidity. My friends wore shirts that said “Not my president,” and I constantly received e-mails from my family about the necessity of getting Bush out of office.

I knew some people supported the president, but I thought they were a minority-just ignorant rednecks and wealthy businessmen.

I took it for granted that smart people realized that George W. Bush is a horrible president, and because most of the people I spent time with were intelligent, I assumed we were the majority.

On Nov. 3, my illusions were slain.

I stared at the television until 4 a.m. on Election Night, becoming angrier and angrier as state after state turned blood red, but I went to sleep with hope.

“Ohio,” I told myself. “We still have Ohio.”

My mom broke the news to me on Wednesday. It didn’t feel real.

How could 51% of America have given its approval to everything we had been fighting so bitterly against for the past four years?

I am angry. My home state, West Virginia, went for Bush. West Virginia, a state troubled by poverty and unemployment, voted for a man who will only make its situation worse.

This was largely because of a fear that John Kerry would take away their guns, and a belief that Bush, with his opposition to gay marriage and abortion, was the “moral” candidate.

I am angry that so little was done to educate West Virginians and other rural states otherwise.

I am scared. Not only was Bush re-elected, but Republicans have control of the Senate and the House. Conservative legislation will now be passed much more easily.

Eleven states voted to ban gay marriage. It terrifies me that so many Americans voted to limit other people’s rights on an issue as personal as marriage. What does it say about our country when we pass laws making life more difficult for others and no better for ourselves?

I am scared that my 14-year-old sister won’t be able to afford college. According to johnkerry.com, college tuition has risen 28% in the past three years.

I am scared that women won’t be able to receive appropriate reproductive healthcare. Several of the Supreme Court justices are facing old age, including Justice John Paul Stevens, 84, and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, 74, who are both Roe vs. Wade supporters. There is a good chance that they will step down and that Bush will replace them with conservative justices.

I am scared that America will wage war on more people, within the country and abroad.

I am ashamed.

Until last week, the American people could defend themselves to the world by saying, “We don’t want this. It is our government, not us.” On Nov. 2, half of America decided that they do support the war on Iraq, tax cuts for the wealthy, and drilling for oil in a national wildlife refuge.

Basically, the world has the right to hate us now-or at least 51% of us.

I struggled for several days with these depressing thoughts. It sucks, and there was nothing I could do about it. Eventually, though, I realized that my negativity wouldn’t make it suck any less.

I attended a meeting on Nov. 4 of people who were all asking “What now?” I went into the meeting feeling pretty pessimistic and like nothing short of a full-scale revolution could save America.

Several modes of action were decided on as a group, including organizing community outreach programs and letter writing campaigns.

By listening to the ideas presented, I constructed my own plan as well.
I concluded that I am sick of taking strictly indirect action.

Cam-paigning was important, but I am frustrated that so many people put so much time and energy into the election, only to be defeated. We have to do something else as well.

I will take action that has direct results. If we feed someone who is hungry, nobody can take that food away. If we tutor a child, nobody can un-teach them what they learn. No Republican or Democrat can undo positive actions that we do directly.

I have learned that the best way for us to deal with this disappointing election is to simply live our lives according to our values, no matter who is in office.