'Little Bush's' win was a huge, collective, psychic 'whack.' One of those 'slap up the side of the head,' wake up moments. There is a huge cultural divide in the country. The Red and Blue states are different worlds, with different markers, different realities.
Everyone in my circle (this says alot) was 'diminished,' by Bush's victory. There was a collective depression that hung over all of us. I refuse to succumb. I can see the 'reality,' I can see that my version takes a back seat to the 'Red Staters,' who now hold all the levers of power definitively.
So, I choose to revel as a 'contrarian.' This can help define a new vision. To live in the 'belly of the beast,' without being consumed. To know who you are, you must also know who you are not. I see the best of America in New York, Chicago, San Francisco; large, shambling experiments in multi-cultural, cross-fertilization. These places are pieces of the picture, but not the whole picture. So we must expand the frame.
The best 'movements,' have always been forces in 'opposition.' 'What are you rebelling against? What have you got?'