Wednesday, November 5, 2008

America

One word. Change. I did.

Two months ago, I accepted Barack Obama to be one of the most impressive men in the world. It had nothing to do with his race, his exotic island connections, or his youth. It had everything to do with his charisma, his energy, and his sincere belief that he could lead us to change ourselves, which would lead the American people to change the nation, which would lead the nation to get back on the rest of the world's good side. I sincerely believed in his sincere belief in me.

So yesterday, I voted for John McCain knowing that Barack Obama would win.

As I watched the electoral map light up the New England states in blue, I already knew I was witnessing a historic moment. Obama took the electoral votes from states that long ago had accepted the national concept of moving forward. McCain held strong in the center of the country, an area that has a death grip on traditional values and, sometimes, old-fashioned crock-o'-shit ideals. Which probably explains why McCain won Florida, too.

By the way, Floridians - congratulations on passing Amendment 2. This is quite possibly one of the most ridiculously ignorant moves ever. WAY TO GO! Morons.

So, back to my point (yes, there is a point!).

I admit I voted for John McCain. I voted for a military leader, a former POW who's had his ass kicked (I'm sure very literally) for years by a war-weary enemy, a man who publicly said, "Hell yeah, Bush f**ked it up but give me the chance to fix it!". (Okay, so he didn't say it that way, necessarily. But he wanted to say it that way. I'm pretty sure. Yeah, pretty sure.). I voted for a Vice President who had more political experience than Barack Obama. Limited, yes. But still, more. I voted for a woman who talks like some of my best friends' mothers from my childhood days in Michigan. I love that accent, you betcha!

I voted for McCain/Palin and I almost wish I hadn't. It's not that I wanted my vote to be counted towards Obama. I really, truly wish (and don't laugh) that I would have voted for Obama so that I could have really experienced the excitement of last night's election results (the same kooky way I experienced real fear from "Blair Witch Project" because I was dumb enough to believe it was real!). Despite his inexperience and his obvious desire to quickly end the war with seemingly no regard for the tragic consequences, (believe it or not) I was really excited that Obama won!

But I feel like I cheated John McCain. Or worse, I feel like I cheated on John McCain. I told the world, albeit via an anonymously cast ballot, that I wanted him to be the next President. Then I went home and turned into some kind of Republicrat and had butterflies in my stomach as I watched the blue states light up all over the map....bling (Wisconsin!), bling (Ohio!), bling (Florida!). My excitement wasn't valid, though. At least that's how I felt last night. And now. So I'm voting for Barack Obama today! Well...kinda.

I hope this country will continue to give Barack Obama the opportunity to show us what he can do. I do have faith that great things will happen. But I also worry that there are too many non-Obama-believers. Obama is such an influential figure in the country, in the world, right now, that I feel Americans owe it to this man to let him turn his speaking abilities into actual progress. Let him show us what he can do. Please don't end his chance before it's over.

I hope Obama doesn't foolishly begin bringing back our troops too early. I hope he doesn't tax the hell out of what very little I own. I hope he does well. And I can't wait to see how this ends.

1 comment:

Sra said...

This is a very interesting perspective on the election, and I'm glad you shared it. I echo all your lovely sentiments.