On the Election

The election went the way I wanted it to on Tuesday night, from the presidency, all the way down to state level decisions to allow gay marriage.  I voted for President Obama four years ago and I voted for him on Tuesday, so I'll admit that I'm feeling pretty content right now.  I do remember though, how frustrated and angry I often felt when President George W. Bush was re-elected and in some ways I understand the upset that Romney/Ryan supporters feel right now and so I'm doing my best not to gloat. Losing something that you feel strongly about is hard, I've been there.

This election season has been pretty rough all the way around though.  As reassured as I feel by the outcome of the election, I spent a lot of the last year feeling pretty darn disgusted by almost all the political commentary I read and listened to. When I'd rather listen to Bret Douglas on Kiss 105.3 in the morning instead of NPR, you know that it's bad.  

Regardless of whether people are currently celebrating a victory or nursing the wounds of disappointment, I am floored by all of the rage, hatred and racism that continues to get thrown around by both sides. Apparently if you aren't a racist Republican, then you're a racist Democrat. I think we need a new word to fling about because this one is losing meaning. Social media that is supposed to connect us with our friends and families has turned into a mudslinging, name calling free for all that would horrify our children. I'm grateful that most of my friends and family and even my office kept it classy despite opposing ideologies but what I've seen through the internet and friends walls, that sadly doesn't seem to be the norm.

I'm glad that the election season is over but I'm now more than aware of how far we have to go to be the place and the people that I once thought we were.  Then I found this quote from a writer for the American Conservative (not exactly a publication that I routinely follow) and just knew that I had to share it:

"I think both men – Mitt Romney and Barack Obama – tell us something very good about the US – seriously – where else could a Mormon and a guy whose grandfather was a Muslim run for the presidency? So despite some of the racist sounding stuff being said in the aftermath of the election (Karl Rove announcing “we’re outnumbered”) it looks to me like this country really is the land of opportunity for people of all races and creeds.

There is something amazing about it – consider that Romney’s grandfather left the country because he was persecuted for his polygamy and yet he could still a few generations later run for the presidency.And then there is Obama’s life story. This is a pretty amazing country."

 This IS a pretty amazing country. :-)