president elect

"Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope."

President Elect Barack Obama

Our office has had a recent upgrade -- two eight foot television screens. This means that I now watch CNN for eight hours a day. Needless to say I had become more than slightly cynical in the days (weeks) leading up to the election. An office email came around first thing on Tuesday morning listing the the freebies that one could get with an "I Voted" sticker, so after work I headed to the poll.

My polling station was a little church where I was greeted by several overzealous elderly people who seemed absolutely ecstatic that I had come out to vote. There was only one other voter in the building. That made the poll station volunteer to voter ratio about 12:1. The lady that greeted me was especially excited because she assumed that it was my first time voting and practically begged me to let her give me a tutorial on the touch screen voting system. I assured her that I could navigate through voting by myself, but she wouldn't have it. On the practice ballot I told her I would like to select Thomas Jefferson for President because I went to UVa and she giggled, I think just thrilled that I realized the list of choices were former Presidents. After being certain to show me the large font option, my ever helpful poll lady deemed me ready to cast my ballot. And so I did.

Ryan and Ruthie had accompanied me to the poll because afterwards we wanted to be sure to pick up all the free treats that we had so patriotically earned. First stop on our circuit tour of voter goodies: Krispy Kreme. We thought since we had voted and done our patriotic duty we had really earned the right to eat dessert before dinner.

Next we headed to Chick fil A where we had heard rumors that they were no longer giving out free sandwiches. The rumors were true and after a brief ethical dilemma about whether we should pay for sandwiches after being scammed into coming to Chick fil A for the free ones, we caved and ordered 3.

The last stop was starbucks, just a few feet from Chick fil A. I think I only ended up taking a few sips of the beverage, but I felt compelled to pick one up because it was free.

We headed home and Ryan and I got to work fixing up things around the house in preparation for our housewarming party this weekend. We had the news on in the tv room and heard the results coming in so very quickly. I couldn't believe it when we heard McCain start speaking and conceding the win to Obama. I thought his speech was quite good. We continued on with our painting. I think it was sometime around 11 pm when the reality of what was going on hit us -- we were patching walls and painting trim as our nation elected it's first black President. What a historic, moving thing. Ryan and I bounced this idea back and forth, really letting it sink in and continually thinking about how this night would be in history textbooks and college lectures and all over the world represented as a symbol of hope, of reconciliation, of the greatness of a nation whose image has become so tarnished these past years. We stopped painting at midnight to hear President Elect Barack Obama. I was moved by his speech. His mannerisms seemed heavy, somber, burdened and yet his words were hopeful.

I have no idea how the next four years will go. But on Tuesday night we made a rule for our home: No cynicism until proven wrong. Forty-five years ago our country was fighting over whether or not to let black and white children attend the same schools. Tuesday night we witnessed a black man being chosen to lead our nation. I have reservations and concerns -- I don't think that Obama's election in itself solves problems or erases hate, I'm nervous about who he will choose to replace Supreme Court Justices, I'm anxious at the policies he will enact, but for now I want to acknowledge and celebrate our nation. I want to believe that there is hope, I want to support it and work towards it -- not just for our country, but for our world. I'd like to think that this election was part of that process -- perhaps not for policies chosen, but for the symbolism that hope is a real thing, that conflict and hate can be overcome and that we as people in our everyday lives have the ability to admit mistakes and make choices that bring about reconciliation and instill hope.