Nearly 24 hours have passed since we learned that Barack Obama would be our next President. While I didn’t vote for Obama, I’m okay with his election. However, my feelings seem to be in the minority among those that voted for McCain. The number of people that think the world is going to come to an end because Obama was elected is staggering, and the number of people that think our country is headed to darker days because of his election is even more staggering. Not to mention the number of people bragging about the win. Really, I could give a damn, and believe it’s time to get over it and move onto the important issues! The end of the world thoughts, the thoughts of darker days, and the bragging serve no purpose, and will lead to no new progress.
Last time I checked, our federal government is made up of three branches. A legislative branch that has the power to make laws, the executive branch that insures the execution and enforcement of the laws, and the judicial branch which decides arguments about the meaning, application, and constitutionality of the laws. Now, Obama will have a say in the guidance of the policy over the next four years as leader of our country and the head of the executive branch. But any real change will need to come from Congress. Why aren’t people so radically charged about a Democrat or Republican senator or representative winning? It sure seems to me that they’ve got just as large a say, and maybe larger in the whole matter. Obama is just one of three major players at work politically in the next four years.
In looking back at this election cycle, I’m impressed with how the American people engaged in the process. Nearly every state experienced near record or record voter turnout. Yet, I’m sick and tired of the partisan bickering and backstabbing that has sprouted from this election. So what if a Democrat won and not a Republican and vice-versa. In the end, if we are going to have any chance of “fixing” the perceived brokenness of our country, Obama is right – we need to work together across party lines, and forget about with which party we assimilate. The election is over, it’s time to accept it, and move forward with a positive attitude, and focus the energy expended on bragging or pouting towards actually accomplishing something productive. The alternative turns me off, and leads to me pulling out of the process, and I’m only one on a long list of people the feel the same way. We’re at historical levels of engagement in the political process, let’s do something with it.
Speaking of historical moments, today I was talking with my uncle about what transpired in the last 24 hours. He made an excellent point that I hadn’t stopped to consider. I’ll share it here. As we were talking, he got out a white piece of paper and drew two timelines side by side. On one timeline he wrote the years 1963 to 2008. He then made a gap, and wrote the years 2009 to ? on the second timeline. He is convinced, and I agree, that we’ve entered a new era in American history. He labeled the 1963 to 2008 era the “Vietnam Era.” I don’t know that I agree with that description, but let’s go with it. He pointed out that the President’s and candidates from JFK to McCain all identified with the Vietnam War in some aspect, and so did most of their supporters. However, Obama as the beginning of this new era, doesn’t relate with the Vietnam War, nor did his most of his supporters. Rather, he related to single parent families, divorced parents, and broken homes. Really, it’s a rather new phenomenon that most younger individuals from more recent generations can relate. In many ways, McCain failed to relate to the younger generations (40 and under) because he was running his campaign on relating to the “Vietnam Era.” An era associated with those typically 40 and over.
In closing, I think Mark Cuban said it best today:
Its simple. Having an elected black President will do more to energize this country than any economic or social policy ever could. In a single day of voting, our amazing country once again reinvigorated the dream that any child in this country, no matter what circumstances they are born into, can grow up to be anything they want, including President of the United States.
That dream, staying viable, being reinvigorated, will do more for this country than any economic policy or any legislation that could ever be passed.
I have said it before, the power of the American Spirit is what separates our country from every other. We have been able to overcome the stupidity that politicians do every year, and will do for ever more. The election of Barack Obama is a shot of adrenaline for those who felt they could never participate in the American Dream.
Regardless of who I voted for, I’m excited to see what the next four years hold. I’m excited that we’ve got an energy, and interest in our government that we haven’t had in decades. I’m excited to see what kind of change is brought about as we put aside the bickering and partisanship and leverage the energy for the good of our country! Now, if we could dispense with the end of the world thoughts, the thoughts of darker days, and the bragging, we just might make a difference!