Faith and Pride Restored

The momentous events that transpired two weeks ago have at least partially restored my faith in the American people and made me once again proud to be an American. I have never been very interested in politics, but this year's election definitely got me interested in a big way. In my opinion (and apparently in the opinion of many others) our country has suffered greatly over the past eight years. The economy is in shambles, jobs are disappearing, we're fighting two wars that have cost the lives of thousands of young American men and women, while scores more are disabled and scarred for life by the horrors of war. I don't doubt that John McCain is a good man and he has served our country well both as a soldier and as a senator. But despite what he tried to claim toward the end of his campaign, I saw his administration as just four more years of the same failing policies. Most of the world hates us, even more now than ever before, and we are failing to take care of our own people. Our country will always have problems; every country does, but we need a President who understands these problems and is truly committed to remedying them.

I have never put much stock or confidence in politicians, but there is something about Barack Obama that makes me truly believe in him. I'm sure that he's not perfect as none of us are and I don't see him as a savior, etc. He's a man, but the way he carries himself with distinguished pride, the way that he speaks with well-educated polish, and the passion he shows for making a difference, have made me believe that he is somehow different than the rest. I am usually a very good judge of character, and there is something about Obama that makes me think he could prove to be one of our greatest Presidents. He has a monumental job to do and it won't be quick or easy, but I do think that he is the person to get us headed in the right direction.

We were on our cruise the night of the election so we had cast our votes through absentee ballot, but we had CNN in our stateroom and I was glued to the TV for several hours watching the election results unfold. I stayed up to watch Obama's acceptance speech, and I must say that I was both moved and inspired. By the end of his speech, I found tears streaming down my cheeks. He spoke like a man ready to lead our country out of its doldrums and back to being a world leader and beacon for all of the free world.

I must admit that prior to this year's election, I didn't think that I would live to see the day that we had an African-American President. As a society, we have come a long way in the last 40+ years, but I still see racism and bigotry often. For some reason, when you're a white person, other white people think that it's perfectly okay to express to you their racist or prejudiced views. This really irritates me. I personally know quite a few people who would not vote for Barack Obama precisely because he is black. This tells me that we still have a long way to go as a society. Despite the long journey that lies ahead, the reality that Barack Obama won this latest Presidential Election shows that we have taken huge strides forward since the Civil Rights struggles of the 60's. Over the years I have learned that you need to form your opinions of people based on their character and their actions, not by the color of their skin, their ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. I was raised in a small, predominantly white (at the time) town and while I was never racist, I had certain preconceived ideas about certain minority groups. It wasn't until I got to college and really got to know people from these different groups that I realized how wrong and narrow-minded my thinking had been.

As I listened to President-Elect Obama's speech, I saw a new day dawning for this country. A day where anyone can dare to dream of standing at the helm of this great nation. Our new President certainly has his hands full and he will need to utilize all of his political skills and diplomacy to pull us out of the nosedive we've been in for the last several years. I can unconditionally say that he has my full support. I look forward to the "change we need" in this country. A new day has certainly dawned and it has dawned brightly.