The Aftermath

Mandy was quite the internet surfer as the election results poured in on Tuesday night. We certainly were watching history and enjoying the moment, but even more amazingly, we were watching the reaction around the world at the touch of a button. And, unfortunately, some of the reaction is just downright scary. Look, I understand the issues faced with polarizing elections. Obama won the popular vote by an overwhelming margin in terms of recent history. What does that mean? 53%. FIFTY THREE PERCENT! Just three points higher than a majority. That means 47% of voting Americans did not support our next President on Election Day.

That is not a bad thing. That is an American thing. And it is what makes our country so special. I never got sick of watching human-interest pieces about first-time voters who were immigrants to this country. They wept when they voted because they had a voice. I, along with most that I associate with, can NEVER understand that. To mock it shows ignorance and a spoiled attitude. And that leads to my rant...

"World War III" "Barack Bin Laden" "Moving to Canada" were some of the knee-jerk reactions/phrases I heard within minutes of the election being called. Where have we come as a society? No matter who won the election, it was a victory. The past 8 years have been a disaster and national opinion polls, the current economy and our global position prove that. So, the election process itself needs to be celebrated. My joy on Tuesday night (and into Wednesday morning) was not a product of a promised economic agenda or health care plan. My joy was in witnessing the joy of others. And it was in that joy that so much hatred was spewed, in an attempt to ruin America's moment.

The cynical mockery of people crying at pro-Obama rallies is most disturbing of all. I am white. I have never been persecuted. I don't have a family history of oppression. I have never been discriminated against in a hateful way. Because of those things, I can not even begin to understand the magnitude of the emotion within the minority populations of this country. To shun the President Elect as a celebrity or simply a movement of "reverse racism" is ludicrous. Here is what I witnessed through this process thanks to Barack Obama:

- More people voted than ever before
- More young people voted than ever before
- More minorities felt a part of the politicial process than ever before
- More countries publicly celebrated the election of President not of their own than ever before

That last one is big for me. You had the heads of state of many major countries speaking outside of their typical "Congratulations Mr. X" PR releases. They welcomed a new era of American leadership. Through all of this campaign, the fear of Obama internationall was only an issue in one place, here (thanks in special part to some shameless Republican campaigning). Our current President (and party in power) is viewed with more vitriol than almost any other nation internationally.

So, in one election, we changed the viewpoint of millions of people. And some want to call Tuesday night a failure. We are destined to go back and forth on the issues. That is democracy. But no American could watch the results come in on Tuesday night and not feel some sense of happiness in watching America showcase the fundamental characteristic that makes us the best nation in the world: our ability to choose our path and guide our leadership.

People care now. They are engaged in the future of this country. And those who cared chose their leader. Talk about pressure! Obama now has to live up to the largest group expectations in history. And I am excited to watch him do it.

So, as we move forward, I am (hopefully) looking forward to putting the hate and bickering behind us. If the numbers are true, then the situation is simple. Were you happy with the current leadership of this country? If not, a change was made. We will all need to rally around that change and make sure it happens. It should make for an exciting four (hopefully 8 :-)) years.

On a side note (and a smaller rant), it was ironic to see an African-American elected President on the same night almost every other civil right issue was defeated. Gay marriage was banned in Florida. It was also reversed in California and banned (shocking to me). And, in what I label as the most frightening example of fear and ignorance, adoption was banned in Arkansas for any couples who are not married and living together. Why, you ask? Because the state didn't want homosexual couples to adopt children. Brilliant! Let's force everybody to be married just so we can guarantee ourselves that no gay people will adopt. So, if you are Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and you live in Arkansas, hand your babies back to the state. Or, if you are two widowers who choose not to remarry out of respect you can't adopt your own children. Good to see fear is still alive in some parts of the country (sigh).