Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Change has come

Change has come, and this, I know, is making a lot of people nervous. They're nervous about Obama, about his health care plan, about his socialist leanings, and maybe even about his skin color. I have already heard many complaints about the election results, and predictions about the dismal state of affairs we will soon find ourselves in with Obama as president. To those people I have this to say: if you can't handle the results, then move. And don't just tell me you're fleeing to Canada. Actually do it. We don't want you here.

I also feel I need to explain part of the reason why NO ONE should be upset about what happened last night. This election was all about progress, about change, about, as Barack coined, the audacity of hope. We should all be SO honored to be in this country, a country that has come so far in the last 50 years, further and faster perhaps than any other in the history of the world. Who can not be proud and glad when they think of MLK and his dream, that dream that seemed so far off, so unbelievable that it was just that, a far-off fantastical vision of the potential world. That the dream has become a reality, no one can now doubt. And that is the beauty of this victory, because it is not just for Obama the man or Democrats as a party. This victory belongs to everyone who values freedom and equality. It is for those who love the American Declaration of Independence, which declared that "all men are created equal". (I of course would insert "and women"...) We finally can believe that equality is being achieved. That maybe the world is becoming a place where race, religion, and gender matter less than our characters. And that is beautiful.

4 comments:

Dara said...

I voted for Obama. Not that it mattered since Utah always votes extremely Republican, but I still thought you might be proud of me.

Christian Olson said...

Krystal, congratulations on your candidate winning. I too support my new President and hope he does an amazing job, despite my personal reservations about his policies.

I do find your post disheartening though. It seems to me that your premise is "My guy won and if you don't like it move. Also, if you don't like it you're against civil rights and progress." This is probably an exaggeration, but talk like this I honestly find disheartening.

Obama is a step forward for civil rights and I'm very proud that he could be elected in America, but I never disagreed with his color. I disagreed with his policies, many of which can do real harm to America. (And no, I'm not calling him a socialist)

Anyway, I thought I'd let you know that I do support President Obama and hope my concerns are wrong. But, don't lecture me please. I spent months deciding on who I supported for this election (and yes, Obama was considered for quite awhile), but the person I voted for lost.

Now it is time for the country to come together. I hope that the rancor and hatred that followed President Bush for his full 8 years (some deservedly, some undeservedly) will not follow President Obama.

I hope my post doesn't offend you and we can have an actual dialogue about this. Thanks for listening.

Goats in the Attic said...

I'm just glad we won't have to put up with the Bush administration anymore. Holy crap did they screw up.

Christian Olson said...

Krystal, don't worry, I never felt offended. I know that I can talk to you about things like this without hurting your feelings (I hope :D) I just wanted to point out that I'm disheartened from so many people on the left forgetting the other half of the country.

I'm not a hyper-partisan, so I don't dispise either party; but I think that hyper-partisans are hurting this country. I hear people making fun of Obama (who I personal admire) and people thinking that Obama should go unquestioned and unchallenged. This is worrying me and the point of the post. Sorry if it came across differently! You still are da bomb diggity.