there's hope
It's Election Day in America and I'm a wreck.
I've already pushed back tears twice this morning, once when I read about the death of Barack Obama's grandmother, and again after watching this spot (via Andrew Sullivan):
I am baffled to be experiencing such an emotional reaction to this election, but it seems to me that a lot of us are going through the same anxiety right now. Perhaps these are the tears that need to come at the end of an ugly era of American history, and tears that reflect the hope of a new era that just might be dawning.
I still can't let myself believe that Obama will actually win this thing -- typical Democratic superstition, I guess -- and I also realize that even if he does win, real "change" won't happen immediately. The clogged machinery of government will not correct itself overnight, and even an inspirational president can't do the job single-handedly.
But above all else, I've come to see this election as a possible symbol of American resiliency. It's our chance to say to the world, "We get it. Bush was a total clusterfuck. We're sorry 'bout all this." It's a fundamental choice of optimism over division, unity over segregation. Even if Obama should only prove to be a middling president, the fact of his ascendancy speaks volumes about the enduring power of the American Dream. I'm confident that he will be far more than middling.
The song that keeps playing in my head today is by India.Arie. Read the lyrics here. And here's a live performance of it:
I've already pushed back tears twice this morning, once when I read about the death of Barack Obama's grandmother, and again after watching this spot (via Andrew Sullivan):
I am baffled to be experiencing such an emotional reaction to this election, but it seems to me that a lot of us are going through the same anxiety right now. Perhaps these are the tears that need to come at the end of an ugly era of American history, and tears that reflect the hope of a new era that just might be dawning.
I still can't let myself believe that Obama will actually win this thing -- typical Democratic superstition, I guess -- and I also realize that even if he does win, real "change" won't happen immediately. The clogged machinery of government will not correct itself overnight, and even an inspirational president can't do the job single-handedly.
But above all else, I've come to see this election as a possible symbol of American resiliency. It's our chance to say to the world, "We get it. Bush was a total clusterfuck. We're sorry 'bout all this." It's a fundamental choice of optimism over division, unity over segregation. Even if Obama should only prove to be a middling president, the fact of his ascendancy speaks volumes about the enduring power of the American Dream. I'm confident that he will be far more than middling.
The song that keeps playing in my head today is by India.Arie. Read the lyrics here. And here's a live performance of it:
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