Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Finally, a post

I should be working, I know, but here I am. A lot has gone since I last posted, so long ago.

We have a new niece. Our fabulously adorable nephew turned 1 (yeah, I'm just mentioning him since mentioned his baby sister). And we got married! And we have a new president elect.

So, what to talk about? I haven't really decided.

I kind of want to talk about the election and our new president. But I don't want to talk about the politics of it all, the differences in the candidates, or even who I voted for. None of that matters anymore. The election is over, we have a winner. Barak Obama will be president. A bi-racial man is going to be president of the United States. A half-African American man is going to be the leader of our country. How many people of any generation ever really thought that was something they would see in their lifetime? I'm 30 years old and even I have doubted ever seeing that.

I commented on a message board earlier that I have not been so proud to be an American since the aftermath of 9/11. In the days and weeks following that tragic even, I saw our country pull together in a way I never really thought it could and in a way I'm certain much of the world, and mostly those terrorists, never thought we would. In those days and weeks we were not different cultures living together in this great country, different races, different religions, different nationalities. We were all just Americans.

Last night, I felt that same pride. I saw seas of different colored faces cheering on a man who even 20 years ago would never have even been the presidential nominee. And I saw results for some counties and states where the majority who voted for Obama were white.

It occurs to me now that I am making this race seem like it was about race, but for me, it was not. I do believe that for many it was. And I believe that those who do think that were dead wrong. But, that does not change the fact that in the end, race is what made this an historical event.

We saw history happen last night. No matter your political affiliation, who you voted for, the color of your skin, you cannot deny that fact. One of the memorable moments for me was seeing Martin Luther King III on ABC news. Finally, all these years later, his father's dream has come to fruition. Something his father fought so hard for, died for. While we have made so many strides since Martin Luther King, Jr.'s time, I think this has to be the ultimate way to see that he did not die in vain.

I suppose at this point it sounds like I am an Obama supporter, that I voted for him. It really doesn't matter if I did or not. But for the record, I did not. I voted for McCain. I voted for the right choice for me. However, I will not say I'm not an Obama supporter now. He will be our president, so my only choice right now is to support him as our president. I can guarantee I will not agree with all of his choices and decisions, but he will be our president and I have to respect him for that.

So, that's all I have to say about that.

I'll blog about getting married later. And I'll post pictures for anybody who hasn't seen them. And I promise to try to update more often.

A