Be quiet, you silly Americans!

I was sent this link: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,138335,00.html

It's an article by John Gibson of Fox News, in which he denounces critics of the elections, claiming they're putting American troops in danger.

Here is my email to the author...

Mr. Gibson,

When something no one ever imagined could happen actually happens, people remember it. And it will never seem like an impossibility again. That this year's election results continue to be discussed, is a direct consequence not of this election, but of the previous one. Americans learned four years ago what people with a wider world view have always known, that the "democracy" which makes us feel superior to the rest of the globe is deeply flawed.

It has been flawed from the beginning. Women and minority communities were systematically disenfranchised. Third parties are excluded from the electoral process. The electoral college undermines the one-person-one-vote democratic ideal. Redistricting controversies recur year after year with no solution in sight. Illegal campaign contributions and out of control campaign spending have made public office a commodity to be purchased rather than an honor to be won. Even the physical process of marking a ballot is problematic in this great nation.

So, many Americans are rightly concerned, even outraged. And they're finally beginning to stir. But fearful conservatives, knowing they just got away with something scandalous, would have them quieted and suppressed. No, Republicans didn't steal the election again like last time. The scandal is in how they won it. Outright lies, personal attacks, fear-mongering, race-baiting, bible-thumping, and the dumbing down of the electorate are not the values on which America was founded. But, sadly, they've become useful tactics in high stakes elections.

Hermann Goering, Nazi Reichsmarshall and Luftwaffe-Chief put it best when he said "...voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."

It is unpatriotic for you to suggest it is unpatriotic and dangerous to discuss the machinery of democratic process. In fact, that's the most American thing to do.

[Signed]