Obama has won the election. I am at a loss for words. I want to say something but there’s so much to say that I hardly know where to start!

First and foremost, I suppose, is my huge sense of relief. Relief that a black man, and some day a woman, in fact, anyone, can be president. (Nevermind that pesky natural born rule.) I am beyond thrilled that my children will not have such questions haunt their childhoods.

I know that sounds wierd. The thing is, growing up in Kentucky, I was always haunted by the history of my family, of my state, of being a Southerner.  I don’t know if that’s normal, if for some reason I was too sensitive or read too much into other people’s comments. Nevertheless, people asking me for Christmas gifts because my family had more money than theirs, people asking me if my family had slaves, people telling me we should give up our house or that we owed them something because slaves were the ones who worked that land (I grew up in an old plantation house), people telling me I was evil because my forebearers may (or may not, I really don’t know) have had slaves.. that can really weigh on a person. I knew that I was not personally responsible, yet… I have never been able to reconcile how fortunate I am compared to some of my schoolmates simply because I was fortunate in my birth. Race pervaded everything.

So I have to admit that while many people said that race was not an issue in this election, I couldn’t help but wonder if that was true. While Palin’s rallies showed that it’s certainly an issue for some people, fortunately it appears to be a minority. Thank god.

Other than that, I am happy on many levels. What can I say, I’m a treehugging liberal!  Every time elections come around, I chuckle at the memory of my father telling me it was appropriate for young people to be liberal and for people to get more conservative as they age. It makes me laugh because I think I become more socialist the older I get! I look forward to changes in our medical system, to re-gaining respect in the world community, to re-evaluating military spending and campaigns, and probably more that I can’t think of right now.

Overall, I’ve been pleased that this campaign has opened my eyes in so many ways. I’ve paid attention to politics in a way I never have before. I watched the debates, a first for me. Usually I can’t stand to listen to politicians talk. I even listen to talk radio now, of all things. I read news with renewed fervor. I nearly got up the nerve to discuss the election with my family (staunch conservatives) but… I couldn’t quite bring myself to do it. Regardless, I feel a part of something bigger — and that’s good.

One thing I am not looking forward to, though, is the whole “American people” thing. You know, “The American people” this, “The American people” that. Even McCain tonight, “The American people have clearly spoken.” (or somesuch statement.) No they haven’t, just a majority of them have. I have always found it highly offensive when people say things like that when it patently does not include me. Bush, for example, does not represent me despite having won an election. A portion of the American people, sure, but all of them? No. That’s always bugged me.

Anyway. This is the sort of post I would probably delete, but I think I’ll post it. If this election has taught me anything it’s that I should be more forthright with my beliefs. I don’t have to be ashamed of them; it’s okay to disagree with others.  Albeit I’m freakin’ ecstatic to live in a state where most people agree with me, in general. While I’m curious if there were any Obama signs in my old neighborhood in Kentucky (which I doubt) I’m pretty pleased we don’t live there anymore. I’m pleased on my children’s behalf as well. Washington state may have a lot of problems - like anywhere else - but at least here I truly feel genuine. Free to be me.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 at 10:39 pm and is filed under Thoughts, Etc. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.