About six months ago (and long before the election outcome was certain) a friend of mine who is still in college was griping to me about a paper he had to write. The topic chosen by the professor was, “What does it mean to be an American?” I actually empathized with him because as soon as he told me the topic I laughed at the stupidity of the question. As I explained to him, it sounded as if the professor wanted to open a dialog about patriotism but just lacked the creativity to create a compelling question about it. I posed back to him, “I think a better question would have been, ‘Are you proud to be an American?’”
As I watched the results of Tuesday’s election roll in I thought back to that question and realized that I couldn’t remember a single time in the entire eight year tenure of George W. Bush (whom I never voted for) that I felt truly proud to be an American. It really struck me how sad it was that despite having all the advantages of being born and raised in this country, and all of the benefits I enjoy as a citizen, that I still was unable to feel proud of my country.
In the wake of Barack Obama’s resounding presidential victory, and for the very first time, I woke up this morning feeling truly proud to be an American. I finally feel as if the general populace has woken up from its ideological stupor and has suddenly seen the greater picture. We have elected an intelligent, educated, well-spoken, determined, and rational person to lead our country (Bush possesses none of those qualities). I remain hopeful that his ideas for the future will translate into a new era of prosperity in this country and that people will finally see that there is nothing wrong with having a president who is smarter than you are.
I’m not expecting President Obama to deliver miracles, but at least now I can actually hold my head high to the world.
Far and away the best photo gallery of the Obama election: HERE