It’s been little over a week now. My new sense of hope is settling in. I have felt the swell of pride-I am adjusting to my subtle shift in my own private universe. I was so honored to have voted. Mine counted. It mattered. The day after the election, I traveled down South. I was overwhelmed by the sense of change that so many were feeling. It was obvious people were ready for something new. This cultivation of hope- en mass…in the south, in particular….though there were a few typical negative comments that only someone in the south could make and really mean. I am so honored this happened in my lifetime, in my daughter’s life time…..not so much for the impact of race-( I have always believed people are people no matter the color-no matter the status)but more so for the message of hope. Yes, we can. Yes, you can. Yes, we did.
I never cared much for commenting on politics. Certainly, in the last 8 years, I never cared for commenting on much of anything that has to do with Government. I, for damn sure, never cared much for anyone telling me what to do with my money, my God or my womb. Make love, not war. I hate religion being used as a barometer for someones ignorance…or lack of acceptance. I don’t want anyone telling my child she will go to hell or that someone died for her so she could be saved. These things are private. Besides, I have learned over the years, that many of these people use the threat of religion to cover up their own demons. God will but I won’t. I was embarrassed to be an American. Truth is, if I did not have a child in the school system, or live in a small town-I would comment more on the things that bother me- the unjust-the struggle-the hypocrisy of those who take authority and bend it to accommodate their own agenda…..I would comment more about what I really feel-but I don’t because I don’t not want my child to suffer the consequences. I grew up in a small town, and know all too well children get the brunt of a parent’s public opinion. I have been distressed and upset about the state of the state-the state of the world-and the moral compass of those who are supposed to be in charge. But not this time. And don’t fool me with a new face in a red skirt. This is not the voice of the women I know and respect. She does not represent the kind of woman I want breaking any glass ceiling or old rules.
I might be naive. I might be fooled. But, I don’t think so. I think, this time, we got it right. We can be the change and we elected someone to lead the way. To quote Charlotte Observer columnist Tommy Tomlinson:
“…..Obama means that words still matter,that a speech can be both politics and poetry, that ideas carried inside the beauty of language can still inspire. Obama means that today a teacher in a crumbling classroom of free-lunch kids can tell them they can be anything, and today maybe they will believe. Obama means that appealing to the worst in us is not always a winning play. Obama means maybe we can look at ourselves in a new way. Obama means that when we say all men and women are created equal, we might finally be ready to put a period at the end.”
exhale.