A Historical Night

When I was little I can remember my parents talking about certain things that were historical moments in their lives growing up--the assassination of JFK, Vietnam, Woodstock. I heard similar tales from my grandparents...WWII, the depression, the bombing of Pearl Harbor. And I would think, growing up, that I lived in pretty boring times. Sure, Reagan was shot at and the Challenger exploded, but those weren't quite on the level of a president being killed or Japan bombing our country.

The first actual time I can remember my dad saying "This is history in the making" was during Clinton's trial. In a Boston hotel room, my sister and bitched about having to watch "boring" coverage about whether or not Clinton had sexual relations.

And then, 9/11 happened. I am pretty sure nothing will come close to the sheer monstrosity and tragedy that the destruction of the twin towers was; at least, I hope not. But, after almost a year of watching a very historical election unfold, the first I have ever "really" been invested in, I can conclude that yet another truly historical event has unfolded in my lifetime.

Americans elected Barack Obama as their president. By a landslide.

I am extremely impressed and proud of my country right now, and that's saying a lot. I have never cared much about politics, never got interested, never had a leader or president that excited me. But if there was ever a time we needed this, now is it. Its no secret that across the world, people are cheering for us, for Obama. I think its amazing and incredible that other countries are so invested in our political future. I know I for one couldn't tell you who the president, prime minister, or leader of most countries is.

Of course, there are the naysayers. In this day and age, the reaction of my generation is spread across the pages of Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and through text messages. Although the majority of my "friends'" statuses are ecstatic, excited, relieved, and happy to have seen Obama win last night, there are a few that are negative. Other friends have even stronger comments on their pages from people.

But, I think Obama's win is two-fold. He won because he is the better candidate, plain and simple. Do I agree with everything stands for, or believe that he will accomplish everything he promised during the campaign? Of course not. But I feel a stronger pull to the Democratic side of the issues, and I feel that Obama's running mate far outshone McCain's (except on Saturday Night Live, of course. Tina Fey rocks.)

The second part is bigger--we have a black president. African-Americans everywhere are celebrating...a black man is president of the United States. And in the same token, I am reading/seeing/hearing people who are upset, who feel that he ONLY won because he's black--and I don't feel this is necessarily true. And again, on the flip side, why SHOULDN'T African Americans celebrate? This is a huge move for America. Anyone who says racism doesn't exist anymore is living with their head in the sand. Its there, its ugly, and it needs to go away. Electing a black president is one enormous step in the right direction.

And, on a self-centered note, the person I root for never wins, so I'm ecstatic. I was prepared to be disappointed, prepared for McCain to win and our country to keep sliding down George Bush's slide of messes. Seriously, on every reality show I watch, my favorite never wins. My pick never wins the Grammy award, the gold medal, or the Superbowl (okay only 1 time ever did I care about that...and the Eagles didn't win!!) John Kerry didn't win. And in middle school, we had to make election posters, and I made one for Michael Dukakis (remember him?) Yeah, didn't win.

So, while some people across the country may be disappointed at the results of our election, I'm not. Instead, I'm celebrating.