New buzz words “unity” and “mandate”

To the editor:
    It seems that since the election we are being bombarded by the media with new buzz words. Don’t get me wrong, I won’t be sad to see the buzz word “change” used less; but now “mandate” and “unity” are starting to sound just as hollow.
    For starters to call the election a mandate is an exaggeration. It is used to encourage people to give up conservative principals, by implying that the rest of the country disagrees with them. The fact is that the election was quite close by historic standards. For all the increase in turnout, President-elect Obama had only a slightly higher percentage of the vote then President Bush did in 2004. Basically just over half of voting Americans chose Obama. So even though the election was historic in nature; it was still very close over all. It was even closer when you factor the downturn in the economy and the approval rating of the outgoing administration. Then consider the fact that John McCain, while a good man, is no real conservative, and the base was not excited about him at all. None of it adds up to a mandate on anything.
    The other word I hear used a lot is a call for “unity”. This is meant to discourage people from criticizing Obama for his liberal proposals. The point is for people to exchange any last conservative ideals they may not have abandoned in the face of the “mandate” for ideas from the far left. They expect all of this in the name of “unity”.
    Let me be clear on this. President-elect Obama deserves all the respect that any person deserves. In addition he deserves the respect due the office he was elected to hold. The same respect that was denied to President Bush. Although to say that we should give up on what we know to be right in the name of unity and giving Obama a chance would be a bad course of action. We need to push harder then ever for the principles of smaller government, fiscal responsibility, the sanctity of life, to name a few.
    Already the Democrat Congress has said that their first act of the new Congress will be to lift the ban on new stem cell research. Which will clear the way for the destruction of more life. Obama has said that he will sign this measure. It is time to fight harder for conservatism and values, not to give up on them. With all the blue dog moderates the Democrats used to take over Congress, we may have more of a voice than you realize. Also mid-term elections are just two years away. We need to hope and pray for the best, and keep working to prevent the worst.
Jonathan Worthley
Houlton