A moment of clarity

I had today what I would call a moment of clarity, of calm, of peace. I'm not a rabidly political person...unlike a lot of my dear friends who work for the government, volunteer for campaigns, and actively seek ways to let their voice be heard. All that means is that while I have opinions and beliefs about certain issues, I don't often enjoy engaging in political debate or voicing my opinion unless it is asked of me or I feel the need to express or defend my chosen beliefs. I rarely get deeply involved in political issues or political elections. I do, however, consider myself a highly patriotic person with a deep and abiding love of my country (hence my two degrees in American Studies) and therefore have the utmost respect for our political system and for those crazy people who seek political office and who actually enjoy being involved in politics. I did not live in DC for two years without picking up a thing or two.

I did not intend to comment about the recent election and I am still somewhat hesitant to talk about it at all. While I do not agree with a lot of Obama's stances on issues both moral, economic, and political, I did, however, consider him to be the best Democratic candidate in several years and thought I'd be okay with him as President since I knew McCain had very little change of being elected. (I think a lot of my perspective on many issues stems from the fact that my husband is in the military. It changes how you view the government and the many important issues being debated this election.) While Obama's win was no surprise, I did become rather apprehensive about what would happen during his Presidency.

Then, it started to bug me how article after article and person after person kept commenting how cool it was that we had a black president, how Obama was black, how they loved that they'd made history for voting for a black president. And I grew concerned that the only reason that Obama had been elected was because of his race. I know how that sounds. It sounds like I'm saying I don't want a black president which couldn't be farther from the truth. But what I don't want is to think that voters did not elect the best candidate because they believed in his ability to lead, his platform or his moral/ethical integrity but rather based their decision on race. (Though to be quite honest, Americans have voted for candidates for much less judicious reasons.)

After talking with several friends and Obama supporters, I know that they voted for all the right reasons. No one chooses who to vote for lightly and even if some people liked the fact that Obama will be our first black president, that wasn't the real reason they voted for him. And yet, I was still apprehensive. What if everything changes? What if everthing is screwed up in the next four years? Did America make the right choice?

And then, as I was washing dishes, I had my moment of clarity. I realized that it doesn't matter that Obama and I have vast political differences. It doesn't matter that he will lead our country in a different direction than his predecessors. Who said that that direction would be bad just because it was different? But what does matter is the change that Obama's win has already brought to this country. It has made people optimistic. It has engendered better feelings in foreign countries and made being an "American cool again," to quote one AP article. It has reinserted patriotism into our vernacular....a patriotism that has been rapidly diminishing in the years since September 11th. Whatever the outcome of Obama's win and his presidency, at least for now, Americans are happy with the decision they have made and in our prospects for the future. And the best way to change America is to change the attitudes and feelings of its citizens. If Americans themselves are more optimistic and have more faith in their chosen leader, then I believe this country cannot help but succeed. Not that Obama doesn't have his work cut out for him, but I can at least be grateful that we have a new leader who has excited and reinvigorated Americans.

Let's just hope he doesn't screw things up. :-)