Sometimes you’re in the wrong place for the events in your Life. I’m not complaining too much but I wish I’d been home to watch the election go down. I don’t think I’d realized how emotionally invested I was in this one, how much I’d kind of given up hope that America wasn’t really interested in voting for something or someone unfamiliar. I still don’t believe that Obama’s politics will (Hell, CAN) be too different from previous policies, but the aberrant blip of insanity that was Bush perhaps can be slowly smoothed out. I didn’t realize I was going to cry during his speach.
Of course – I say that, but it’s important to acknowledge that a lot of people were absolutely enthralled to have another four years of Bush, would’ve been thrilled for many of his policies to continue under McCain – and a fair number of them see the coming of Obama as the end of America. Unfortunately, I think it’s probably time for a fair number of them to grow up and realize that even the most liberal of communist-minded socialist policies would have a hard time damaging the country as much as the war-mongering bigoted short-sighted zealotry of the past eight years, but that might be a difficult conversation to actually have. \
Having driven through a LOT of red states over the past couple of days (two of which are now freshly blue!!), listening to the radio that whole time, it’s pretty important to remind my East Coast friends that the only liberal station that I could (sometimes) get while driving all that time was NPR in it’s various forms, telling the same stories over and over again… on the other side I could tune into Rush and his various clones as well as innumerable religious broadcasts (ahh, Cross Talk) all telling their story of Obama the abortion advocate, the Godless man who’s going to lead the United States down the path of socialism to decadence, decay and Hell. The man who’s going to close the coal factories and kill babies and gun rights in one fell swoop. The man who will allow gays some semblance of humanity… Monday was a day of prayer and fasting with people calling a number of different programs to pray for McCain – and the angry faces in the all-white audience as McCain conceded the election – Obama won electoral votes decidedly, but still only has the barest sliver of a lead in the popular vote. It’s strategy that won this election I fear, not actually a changing America. I’m also disappointed that the total votes counted so far actually falls about 4 million short of 2004’s total, so with all this effort – LESS people cared.
McCain was graceful. I liked his concession speech to a point and the boos were almost excusable, but pointing to Obama’s win as a triumph for black America (or rather “having special significance for African Amercians”) and nothing much further was a nasty last jab and a back-handed compliment.
My one last cry of cynicism: Bristol Palin, now that your mother’s election is off the table, I’m sure hoping Levi still bothers to marry you.
But on to the optimism: Obama is the most powerful symbol we’ve had in the time that I’ve been alive, i think. At least the most powerful positive one. I’m tired of rallying behind fallen towers and fancy font-reworkings of 9/11. It’s long-since time we stopped waving the flag of what’s been done to us and waving a flag of what we’re doing for ourselves.
I really admired the speech last night – it was amazing to feel that I was watching the next incarnation of history text books in the making and beyond that, hearing a speech that didn’t have to be said by the first black president for it to mean something. They were powerful words, powerful promises of leadership and cooperation and compelling words of narrative. Also a reminder to people that their job doesn’t stop right here with the “your guy won” pat on the head, but rather that it’s just beginning.
I hope that all the push and excitement and effort and sheer American WILL that I’ve seen while traveling over the last month (Hell, the last two years) isn’t going to just sit back and wait for this much awaited change. I hope that all those idealists (including myself) who’ve placed this man in office realize that taxes WILL go up, the stock market will go down (300 points so far this morning), there will be wars and we won’t be out of Iraq January 21st. Ford won’t be making affordable hybrids by February and as Heather and I tour in March gas will probably be back up around the $3 mark if not higher than it was before.
I sincerely hope we’ve just elected a good man, because I plan to trust him – and in any case, I plan to go find myself a flag lapel pin.
