Inspirations from cheese in a can. joey, kelly, danny, and charlie

It’s been a week….has everyone calmed down a little bit now? Good. Because I have something I want to say about the election. I considered avoiding this post altogether because I am very pointedly non-confrontational, and conflict makes me nervous. I am a peacemaker, sometimes too much so. I couldn’t let this one go, though, not when I have committed to posting every day this month, this month is November, this year is an election year, and an election like we’ve never seen has just happened. So damn the torpedoes, here’s my two cents. However, before that: a thank you to all veterans and their families for their sacrifices to protect our country. Your service does not go unnoticed; you are appreciated. Thank you.

Now: all politics aside (as if that’s possible….but try and work with me), what happened last week is an event that I would have bet money that I would not see in my lifetime. When I heard that Barack Obama was a serious contender for the Democratic nomination, my reaction honestly was: “It will never happen.” I underestimated my country, and overestimated the power of racism. So I am pleasantly surprised, and I submit that I would be feeling this same pleasant surprise even if the President-elect was now Alan Keyes (an uberconservative African-American politican). Okay, maybe not the exact same pleasant surprise, but my point is that there is something bigger than politics to notice here.

So this surprise that I feel is the happy part. Millions and millions of parents can now say to their children, with more confidence than before: “You can do anything.” It’s one thing to pass along that platitude and not be sure that you’re doing your kid a favor, and fear that maybe you’re instilling naivete where perhaps a dose of realism would better serve the child. But for parents to believe it as they say it must be such an amazing feeling….to have an example like the President-elect of the United States to point to and assure their children that their biggest dreams are possible, regardless of their skin color or parentage. And for children to grow up taking it for granted that this is the way our country works, is an amazing thing. Yes, this pleases me so much.

And so I have tried to focus on these things, and not to be disheartened at the reluctance of some to acknowledge the historical import of this moment. Not to mention their rush to purchase firearms, disown family members based on their vote, or herald the Apocalypse and/or imminent collapse of our society. For those people, I just wish that they would redirect just a little, and allow themselves to see the positive in this situation. And I know that it is possible for people of different political preferences to do this, because I watched my sister Danyelle do it. Though she is one of the most conservative people I know, on the day after the election she handled herself with as much grace as John McCain displayed in his concession speech, even celebrating with people she met in the grocery store when she saw on their faces what this moment meant to them. And then, my sister-in-law twice removed, Jenn, posted this on her blog yesterday, reminding us that in addition to his African-American heritage, Barack Obama is as Irish as JFK, and that maybe, just maybe, everything is going to be okay. If you, too, have something you want to say, please feel free to comment. Of course, respectful disagreement is welcome, but please try not to say anything ugly, y’all. It would hurt my feelings.