Well it is finally over, and I for one am very relieved. I was getting really sick of all the ads and tripe that the candidates throw at one another. McCain gave a very gracious concession speech, and Obama's victory speech was gracious as well. Regardless how you may feel on the subject, I hope that everyone will come together and set aside their differences so we all can get on with our lives. I for one am very pleased that the United States has finally voted in our first African American President. I know that isn't the reason to vote him in, but it gives me hope that the dream of MLK Jr. is starting to really happen. As a teacher, a great lover of cultures, and an individual who appreciates equality, I am thrilled to have an eloquent and intelligent man in the office that has so long been smeared by GWB. I also have a deep respect for McCain. They are both good men, and despite all the crap I have heard about both of them, I am not delusional. Some of it was true, some was not, and it will all come out in the wash, when it matters. I prayed, I read, I educated myself, and then I voted.
As you can imagine, since this is Utah, a dominantly Republican area, there is some serious backlash from the big election. My students are outraged, and all I can think is "Hey, if you honestly believe this is the end of the world, then get your life in gear and be ready for it." For those of us that don't feel the world is coming to an end in January, or even if it were we are not going to waste our time worrying, well, I guess we just have a more mature perspective. It isn't that we don't care, because we do, and I am quite sure that we are a hell of a lot more aware of repercussions to the choices we make than my students are at this point in their lives. It is just that my outlook comes from history, both mine and hundreds of years that I have reviewed, and then an attention to details that matter in this day and age.
Do I think who is President of the United States is matters. OF COURSE. Do I think Obama was a bad choice? No, I really don't. I know why many people preferred McCain, and I understand their concerns (as long as it isn't some sad sorry prejudice excuse). I don't agree with some of Obama's stands, especially on abortion. What I realize is that things like abortion are choices, and people make them according to their own personal moral compass. I don't have to agree with them or embrace them in order to support Obama (who himself has stated that he isn't for abortion, but that he supports peoples individual rights to make those decisions) I can hear many of you now. I haven't lost touch with my spiritual self, so breathe. I support Prop 8. But I also have friends and family who are homosexual, and I think there needs to be a way for my aunt to sign documents or medical papers for her partner and their kids. They know I don't agree with their choice, but they also know that I love them, and I want them to be safe and happy.
There are not easy answers to many of these concerns; however there are bigger fish to fry here: the economy: trickle down economics have a history of failing, so I am happy to see the possibility of something that might actually help the middle and lower middle classes, not to mention the poverty stricken masses. I know, because I have heard every argument known to men, women, and children, that Obama will fail . . . blah, blah, blah, just because his ideas seem different doesn't mean they are destined to failure. I don't want socialized medicine, but he is putting forth a couple of ideas that might have some merit. And since I understand how the country is run, I know that changes like he wants to make will take time.
Maybe it is because I have been to other parts of the world and have seen up close and personal how blessed we are in this country. Maybe it is because I see everything coming to a head for a reason, and I am at peace with the future. Maybe it is simply that Christianity says that to vent so much hatred for such small reasons is anti-christian. Whatever the case may be, I am sick of it. I just want everyone to accept that Obama is going to be President, pray for him to be a good one, and leave it all in God's hands.
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