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In the past, I’ve tried to avoid talking politics on my blog (if only to maintain some professionalism – those who know me know I’m passionate about politics and highly opinionated), but tonight is a night worth commenting on.

I’ve now had at least 4 people call, IM, or text to console me on the loss of John McCain, the candidate whom I supported. Some have been surprised that I expressed pride in what we accomplished today. I’m writing to address some of this cynicism, and declare why I feel such pride in my country right now.

Let me start by saying that I vehemently disagree with now President-Elect Obama’s policies and philosophies in many respects. I won’t go into the details, but I want to be clear that none of what has happened has changed that.

To me, among the miracles that makes this country great is that every 4 or 8 years, we change our government, and we do so peacefully and with the understanding that we, collectively, have made the decision to respect and accept the outcome of our elections. For over 2 centuries, we have consistently made efforts to respect our fellow countrymen and the collective wisdom of people all across the country striving to make it a better place. Even after the civil war, we as a nation were able to heal and again come to respect and expect to respect one another. Today, we saw the electoral process at work, and while the outcome was not what I had hoped, I can only have respect for the decision we made, and I am proud that we as a people could once again come together to make this choice.

President-Elect Obama said it perfectly tonight in his victory speech: “That’s the true genius of America. That America can change. Our union can be perfected.” We live in a nation of change. It’s not the bumper-sticker “change” we’ve been hearing about for the last 2 years, but the notion that while no one man is perfect, together we can strive through change toward perfection. I believe that every president, congressman, governor, man, woman, and child who has ever worked with the intent of improving this nation through their contributions, however small, has made an impact and helped to “perfect” this great American experiment. Through successes and failures, we’ve learned, adapted, and changed, and with each election my faith in our ability to do this is refreshed.

I’m also proud, today, because we’ve just elected our first black president. What makes me proud is not simply that he’s black (which is historic in and of itself), but rather that we as a nation have learned to look beyond race and creed, and we, collectively, will grant him the power and responsibility of the office of the President of the United States. He’s not the black President, he’s not the liberal President, he’s our President, and that title needs no qualifiers.

So today, while I’m disappointed with the results of the presidential election (among others), I’m also beaming with pride for our nation. Now, I can only wish President-Elect Obama the best for the next four years. I don’t agree with what he wants to do, but I hope it has (and want it to have) a positive impact for the country. I want what’s best for the USA, and can wish for nothing less than that. I hope that Obama will be a great leader for us all, and I will be proud to call him our President.

Tonight, our electoral process worked the way it was supposed to work, and that makes me proud to be an American.

Labels: politics