After a late night of celebration last night, I can say, "Yes We Can!" As a nation, we did it. My Mom arrived at the polls at 5:30 A.M. to vote, and so did we - the line was so long that I had to turn around, leave the poll, go to work and then come back later in the day to finally cast my vote at around 4:00 p.m. but it was SO worth it. Emily's boyfriend voted for the first time ever, and was very excited about it.
This makes me feel hopeful, which I haven't felt in way too long. What really excites me about this new President-elect is that he doesn't have the idea that he'll go it alone - I really believe he WILL be a uniter in every sense of the word, and that he'll use his network of supporters to get to work and have all of us contributing. When he said that he will be everyone's President, even those who didn't vote for him, and that he'll listen ESPECIALLY to those with whom he disagrees, that is such a turnaround from the present administration that it felt like a breath of fresh air had been brought into the White House. The fact that the vote isn't our only contribution - but is only the beginning of the work we have to do is exciting. Involving the American people in the work is a great way to get us all involved and bring us together on a common goal - at least that's what I think through my rose-colored glasses this morning.
As far as results go, in my own state of Missouri, we have a sqeaker - it was 49% to 49% but McCain had about 6,000 extra popular votes - so admittedly, he narrowly took our state.
Now I am determined to be a gracious winner and to be respectful of those I know who are disappointed this morning. I remember how sore I felt "the day after" every time we've lost in the past.
I am also going to start thinking about how I can help in some way - get involved in my community to volunteer or do something productive so it doesn't just stop with the vote.
4 comments:
An inspiring and well-written post, my dear!
You're so much sweeter than I am! I'm wanting to go over and say "in your FACE, buttheads!" Or, when a saw a herd of McCain supporters having a BBQ last night, wanted to go and say, "How's the CROW, buddies?"
Clearly, I need a Prozac IV drip during PMS. ;)
Hi! I am actually here because you commented on Knitting at Night's podcast site. Can you give me a clue about how to subscribe? ITunes has their address wrong and says they can't find her. I'm going to subscribe to your blog now and will leave a more intelligent/relevant comment later. But for now, I spent the last year every day saying "President Obama" out loud and letting that hope keep me afloat. I chose hope rather than fear. I took my Obama sign down out of my yard Wednesday morning because it is not a time to gloat. Thnx for your post. I'll be back!!!
Laura Sue - yes exactly it is not a time to gloat. Well said.
Although I love Kntting At Night, isn't she great? I don't know how to subscribe via itunes. I use an old MP3 player myself and just go to her website regularly and download it. I'm old fashioned, and not very techno-savvy. Sorry, but if anyone else knows, feel free to tell her how to do it, okay?
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