I feel I would be negligent if I did not post this evening. I am not going to post about political viewpoints, right or left, red or blue, win or lose. I'm going to write about witnessing history. I am not a political activist, and until the past few months I'll be honest and say that I was not very interested in politics. There are many issues for which I am too poorly informed to even engage in debate. This is not something I am proud of in any way, and am glad that this election has sparked an interest that is already making me more informed. But that is not what I want to write about.
Tonight, history was made... and I was there. Even as I stood in the booth casting my ballot, my eyes were flooded with tears at the significance of what I was doing. I sat on my sofa tonight and cried again as the results were announced. I pulled my son from his homework to witness that moment with me. "When your children's children's children go to school... they are going to learn about this moment. And you are HERE." Even in the fifth grade, the significance was not lost on him.
History was made tonight, and we not only witnessed it... we were part of it. Those of us who wrote and blogged and commented and debated our viewpoints in these public forums helped, even in a sometimes minuscule way, shape this election. We have a written record of our involvement in a moment of history that has been dreamed about for decades, and for centuries by some. Today will be discussed as a turning point, a paradigm shift, that will shape the future for thousands of years and billions of people. And we were here. I hope each of us takes a moment to pause and really feel the moment... to feel new faith in the future. And if I may quote the famous words of the great Martin Luther King Jr., "With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood."
7 comments:
This was beautiful. I felt like you, Riley, Mia, and I'm sure millions of other people as I sat with my girls and my husband and realized what my parents and grandparents must have felt like when Kennedy won.
Nicely written, Jen. It is nice to hear that even though your candidate may not have won, your interest in the politics and government has been lit. :-)
I wrote some lyrics to the tune of Elton John's Candle in the Wind.
Fart in the Wind (Goodbye Sarah P)
Goodbye Sarah P
There was nothing about you but looks
You charged girls for rape kits
And you banned a lot of books
You crawled out of the woodwork
With your tiny little brain
You had several children
And you gave them stupid names
And it seems to me your political life
Is like a fart in the wind
And the bad smell went away
When the votes came in
And I'm glad I didn't know you
'Cause you seem like a bitch
When it seemed McCain would lose
You threw him in a ditch
Interviews are tough
When you don't have a clue
Rush made you a superstar
But you turned the red states blue
Moderates and women
Oh, they really hated you
Even your supporters
Just wanted to see you in the nude
And it seems to me your political life
Is like a fart in the wind
And the bad smell went away
When the votes came in
And I'm glad I didn't know you
Because you make me ill
Your legend will burn out long before
Your ambition ever will
I enjoyed this post Jen. Thank you. I cried too.
@ Anonymous- bwaahahahahaaha LMFAO. Sorry, I know it's supposed to be a time of healing and optimism, but that's effing funny!
"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer." President Elect Barack Obama
Good blog. I find an hour of my morning is now consumed by reading the blogs of all you lovely ladies-You, Trish, Mia, Dana, and Riley. It is nice that you were able to share that moment with your boy.
Ponder the following:
What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?
What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?
What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?
What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?
What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe disfiguring car accident?
What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married?
What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?
What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?
What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five? (The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major
political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.)
What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?
What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter?
What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing five planes?
What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many occasions, a serious anger management problem?
What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution?
What if the Obamas had adopted a white child?
You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?
*Educational Background:
*Barack Obama:*
Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a
Specialization in International Relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude
*Joseph Biden:*
University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)
*John McCain:*
United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899
*Sarah Palin:*
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism
Education isn't everything, but this is about the two highest offices in the land as well as our standing in the world. You make the call.
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