really?

It seems that politics are all the rage these days. I am not a political person. Like my other friends who have blogged about the election, I also can't believe I'm doing this. But I have to say a few things before my head explodes. I find that I have a hard time organizing and articulating my thoughts in writing since I've been out of school for so long. So either bear with me, or stop reading now. :-)

The problem I'm having is the attitude people seem to have regarding this election.

I'm sick to death of hearing about how we can now be proud of our country. Did we really not have any reason to love our country before Tuesday? More specifically, people seem especially proud that we're "no longer a racist nation." I wasn't aware that we were a racist nation on Monday, but how does electing Obama prove that we are not racist? Our government has had many great black leaders - just not a president. Did we elect him because he was the right choice? Or did we want to prove something to ourselves? And if it was the latter, isn't that just as racist? If McCain had won, would we then be a nation of confirmed racists? Am I racist if I didn't vote for him?

Why is it that any criticism towards Obama is condemned as racist? Why is it not possible in our society to be racist toward a white person? I would really like someone to explain to me why it is okay that my husband was passed over for admission to grad schools, for internships, and jobs simply because he is male, middle class, conservative, and white. Why is it okay to discriminate against some people and not others because of color (or lack thereof)?

Maybe what we should be concerned about is that is seems people no longer can feel safe and comfortable expressing their views/opinions in our society. The media has managed to make every issue seem decided/final - that there is one idea that is right, that everyone is agreed on, and if you think differently, you are the minority and had better keep your mouth shut. Let me take this moment to say that I don't believe global warming is a man made problem. The earth has gone through patterns of warming and cooling its entire existence and do we really think so highly of ourselves to decide that we are somehow to blame THIS time, or that we can "fix" it? And why, when we are all told that we need to "cut our greenhouse gas emissions", is it okay for the prophets of global warming to trot around the planet in their private jets? Oh, yeah, because they have money to "offset" said carbon footprints. My opinion aside, if they are right about global warming, is it REALLY the biggest crisis we face today, or a distraction from the real problems facing humanity?

But heaven forbid I express such a view in public. Because I am wrong. Aren't I? If you watched news coverage (and who didn't?) of the election, you never would have believed that nearly 1/2 of the people in this country voted for John McCain. Rather, it seemed that everyone except me was in favor of Obama.

I don't have the answers to the world's problems. I sincerely hope Obama does. Because whether or not he was my first choice, he is what we have now. And I want my son to have a great country to grow up in just like I did. I hope he will be able to grow up in a world with less discrimination, less unjust judgment, and less fear than we have now. So can we all just get along?