I've been struggling all day about what, how, if I would write anything about the election. Emotions have been so high. Now that the campaigning and voting is done, I find myself no less conflicted than I have felt throughout this election. I am a riot of emotions. Not all bad, but certainly not all good.
I am optimistic that President Elect Obama can restore faith in our country and return us to a place of respect in the eyes of the world. He is most certainly a charismatic and energetic leader and I have little doubt that he will prove to be an effective diplomat.
I am doubtful because he is one man, one man who has made many, many promises. He is not the first to win his way into office through promises of prosperity and comfort, nor would he be the first to fail to follow through, but his failure will be so damaging to the collective psyche of all those who have pinned such expectations on him that I worry for the fallout.
I am happy that the racial barriers that have plagued our country for so long have at last fallen such that a black man can aspire to AND reach the highest office.
I am saddened that the women of this election who struggled for a similar accomplishment have been met with such unequal treatment. Hillary Clinton was a bitch for being tough like her male counterparts and Sarah Palin was a bimbo who was alternately abandoning her family or using them for political gain. No such treatment was hurled at the males in this election. While we seem to have cleared a hurdle in the racial issue, the gender glass ceiling is still very real.
I am worried that just as a Republican led house, senate and president were bad for our country, so too will be the Democratic trifecta. We NEED balance. We need cooperation. I have seen none of this in a long time, from anyone.
But mostly, I am just relieved to have this all over. I have been in knots for weeks, no, months. I have read and heard so much anger and hate. So much hyperbole. So much finger pointing. I am glad to be done with it.
So. Let's move forward. You say you can. Now prove it.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
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I do think the two women were treated unfairly at times, but I also think that often it was warranted.
ReplyDeletePalin's stupidity (today a Fox News reporter said she thought Africa was a country) was so clear, that it made her look too much like a successor of Bush (and you can't say he's never been called on his stupidity).
Hillary's campaign was brutal in the way it seemed to threaten the chances for Obama and for Democrats once it was clear to everyone but her that he was going to win the primaries. I tend to think now that her tough campaign really made Obama immune to further attacks from McCain, but at the time I was scared that Hillary was going to blow it for all of us and for the country.
I too feel pretty queasy about the coming months. But we'll get through it. I just hope we are able to do so fairly unscathed...
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Cara...beautifully worded.
ReplyDeleteI love the thought of moving forward, but it scares me. Because the issues I hold near and dear to my heart are "inconvenient" to the man some people elected last night. And that frightens me a lot. BUT...having said that, I trust God and never question what He allows. So I will try to move forward. I really will.
I too am glad it's over and am ready to move on.
ReplyDeleteAWESOME, AWESOME post! Well said and to the point(s). I, for one, think we need a third party...a serious third party (I don't think independents qualify).
ReplyDeleteWe need to balance the bullshit in congress by getting a serious third. Maybe in our kids lifetime, who knows.
I'm hopeful. I'm skeptical. I'm excited. I hope he can fix some of the mistakes of the last 8 and I hope he can bring about the kind of change we so desperately need.
I truly believe in all my heart, that the first black man as president (just as the first woman president) would do their absolute best to carry that legacy and prove people wrong. I think we're in for a wonderful term.
AWESOME, AWESOME post! Well said and to the point(s). I, for one, think we need a third party...a serious third party (I don't think independents qualify).
ReplyDeleteWe need to balance the bullshit in congress by getting a serious third. Maybe in our kids lifetime, who knows.
I'm hopeful. I'm skeptical. I'm excited. I hope he can fix some of the mistakes of the last 8 and I hope he can bring about the kind of change we so desperately need.
I truly believe in all my heart, that the first black man as president (just as the first woman president) would do their absolute best to carry that legacy and prove people wrong. I think we're in for a wonderful term.
I wish that the John McCain that conceded was the John McCain throughout the campaign. I think it would have been a closer race had his campaign not been so dirty. His "choice" in VP picks was clearly political and I'm sorry, but I just don't think that Sarah Palin represents most women.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, politics aside, it was a pretty monumental thing for our country to elect our first biracial president.
This post was so thoughtful and well-written. I too am glad the election is over as presidential elections tend to bring out the worst in people. Your paragraph about the treatment of the women candidates was spot on.
ReplyDeleteWhat frustrates me about election years is the way people who are normally rational people and critical thinkers suddenly want to reduce things and peoples to the simplest terms, as if the candidates and their supporters can easily fit into categories of "good"/ "evil" or "greedy"/"compassionate" and etc.
I could say more, but I'd rather, like you say, just move forward.
I agree with everything you said in your post!! I just hope everyone work with and not against our new president as he tries to restore our country. I also hope everyone gives him a chance to put his plan into action!
ReplyDeleteI liked that very thoughtful and thought provoking.
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ReplyDeleteThat was a great post, Cara. I know we don't agree politically, but I never have felt any animosity toward or from you b/c the dialogue has always been respectful.
ReplyDeleteI am hopeful about and grateful for the shift that I have seen taking place in the level of optimism people seem to have. The new president certainly has a lot on his plate--I think I read somewhere that Obama was coming into office at one of the most dire times in our history with 2 wars, the economy and the overall anti-US sentiment around the world. Certainly a difficult situation for anyone to turn around no matter who won the election.
I do believe that consciousness is a big part of the battle and I think a shift in the collective consciousness of our country (and the world) is taking place, and it can only benefit us in terms of moving forward.
A wonderful post and I have a thought which came to mind as I read it...
ReplyDeleteI can only hope that the people of this country who got SO caught up in this presidential race might spend an equal amount of time examining their own lives and the effects they have on their families, their neighbors and their fellow man.
It's SO easy to sit on a couch and criticize a sound bite or a sensationalized story... To point fingers at people who have cameras thrust in their faces and have to carefully think through the answers they give before they speak... If they don't speak up fast enough they're considered a dullard and yet if they speak without thinking too carefully they could really screw up... I certainly wouldn't want to have to deal with such scrutiny and I think it's unfair we're SO critical of those who are in that position.... But I digress.
The point is, how often do we as citizens stop and think about the effect we have... The effect we have when we follow someone to closely as we drive and then shake our fists as we pass. The effect we have when we act out because we're frustrated by long lines or large crowds. The effect we have when we see someone struggling or suffering and we pass them by without offering aid because we're too busy with our own lives.
People praise the ideal of 'Change' but what they don't want to accept is that the only real 'Change' that can take place in the world we live in, has to come from each and every one of us.