One Nation Under God

He had the endorsement of most newspapers and magazines; he carried the energetic support of major celebrities, from Ben Affleck to Bruce Springsteen; and he held the approval of the entire country of France along with 90 percent of the rest of the world. He had hundreds of millions of dollars, an army of young volunteers and a team of lawyers and political experts working on his behalf. John Kerry had everything on his side as the challenger to the incumbent and yet he still lost the presidential election. He lost because he didn’t have the support of Jesus. As the returns come in, it is abundantly clear that evangelical Christians are a main reason why Bush has a second term. Inspired by Bush’s own personal faith and adherence to their issues, this group voted in records numbers for Bush and the Republicans, allowing them to maintain control over the Senate and the House. They voted down gay marriage propositions and made Bush the first president in over a decade to win by more than 50 percent of the vote.

But what is ironic is that despite their obvious political clout, not much has been said in the media about evangelicals—and, more importantly, about Middle America in general.

We in coastal America know surprisingly little about what life is like for those in living in Kansas and Mississippi. NASCAR may be the biggest spectator sport in the country but most of us here at Harvard—the intellectual center of Blue America—probably couldn’t name a single driver. Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins have sold over 40 million novels on the Apocalypse, but if these two guys walked into the Coop, they’d walk in entirely unnoticed. Country albums might sell the most records every year, but if their life depended on it, the only country singer a Harvard first-year could come up with is Garth Brooks.

John Kerry had many smart and educated people working for him; but these people, like much of Blue America and those of us at Harvard, know more about Eastern religions and the political parties of Germany than they do about mega churches and Dale Earndhart. Bush was able to win despite the weak economy and the situation in Iraq because he knew that in the end it wasn’t celebrities or Europeans that mattered in presidential elections; it’s the guys who drive pick-up trucks, have WWJD tattooed on their biceps and listen to Toby Keith.

It is time for Democrats to come to terms with this new reality. The political landscape of America has changed. This country has shifted to the South geographically and to the Right ideologically. So much of the old liberal establishment is still stuck to the North and to the Left. They don’t understand why millions of people would pay eight dollars to watch Jesus get brutally tortured for two hours or why you’d want to sit in a loud stadium and watch cars drive around in circles. They regard Middle America as fly-over country—a place full of misguided, intellectually inferior people. This failure to fully engage Middle America is what allowed John Kerry to lose what should have been an easily winnable election.

People here at Harvard and across Blue America may be outraged that Bush won, but they shouldn’t channel that anger towards those living in the red states. Instead, there should be a greater recognition of this new political reality and the importance of those living inside of America. In order for this country to move forward, the two sides need to reengage one another with a sense of mutual respect. Nothing will be accomplished if blue states call the red states stupid, and red states call the blue states immoral.

Brian A. Finn ’06, a Crimson editor, is an economics concentrator in Lowell House.