So this past Tuesday, our nation overwhelmingly voted to appoint a Black man to this land’s highest political office. Barack Obama won all over the map, cruising to a victory that even the major networks were able to announce comparatively early in the evening. Still, though the finale wasn’t altogether surprising, I can’t exactly say this was an anticlimax. The spontaneous celebrations and outpourings of joy/relief/triumph in every corner of America tells me that the singular potency of the moment was certainly not lost on many.
As for me, I didn’t cry like a baby and I didn’t get out into a public area to join in a spontaneously display of euphoria Tuesday evening. However, as the week progressed, I couldn’t help but think upon the historicity of the election cycle we had just witnessed. For much of my adult life, America had one president – George W. Bush. Bush took office when I was 14, and I don’t have a lot of memories of American politics from before then. Thus, simply having any other President is pretty shocking to me. The fact that it will be Obama is even more mind-blowing… For the first time since I’ve paid attention, it seems like we are moving past Boomer politics and the culture wars, and it’s nuts.
I realize now, too, how easy it is to get completely wrapped up in politics and elections… And honestly I hope I put my focus more on living.
That said, here is some Obama-related content that I found pretty cool.
Judith Warner on what Obama’s victory signified.
Colin Powell did not dance for joy over Obama’s victory; he wept.
“Look what we did. Look what we did,” he said, puffy-faced, red-eyed, fighting back more tears on CNN. “He’s won. It’s over.”
