I am proud to be an American. I am proud of this country. I think we made the right choice for President.
Election day Tuesday and the day after were days you could feel such excitement in the air. I went to the polls before work since I had school after work and thought that would be the only chance I had to do it. I couldn’t find a close parking spot. I waited in line for a while. It was crowded. And you know what, THAT’S HOW IT SHOULD BE! I was glad! It felt great to not be the only young person there. It felt awesome the vibe that I felt from others. You would think with so many people in a small area that problems would arise, but people were respectful. It was an exciting time. I remember when I first voted in the 2000 elections (that was the first election I could vote), I barely waited. There was hardly anyone there. The person there who was closest to me in age was about 35 years older than me. In 2004, it was definitely more crowded than the previous presidential election, but this year I think there were even more people there. And again, more young people were there. People younger than me were there.
One thing I keep hearing is that no matter who or how you were voting, people were respectful at the polling places. I’m really glad to hear that. I really wouldn’t know firsthand because my voting area is overwhelmingly Democrat. (And those who aren’t Democrat are Green, independent, Libertarian, etc. I think there are more of the independent and "third" party voters than Republicans in my area). For a couple mile radius around where I live, you see Obama signs everywhere. I have not seen one McCain sign. In front of the elementary school where I voted, there were nothing but Obama Biden signs and Vote No on Question 2 signs. (FYI, I voted yes on Question 2 and most of Maryland also voted yes, allowing slots in the state). I didn’t see as many people standing out front with literature or stickers as before. Then again, I think I went earlier than previous years. When I walked in, I only saw one man. We talked briefly and he handed me some literature. I realized he was Maryland Delegate Stephen W. Lafferty. He also gave me an Obama/Biden sticker. I did see two more ladies who were together standing in front as I was leaving but that’s it.
When I arrived to work, there was excitement in the air. Almost everyone had either voted or they went after work. "I voted" stickers were seen on a bunch of employees. I walked around smiling all day. i felt this connection to the people I work with, even those I barely know.
When I went to school, several students either arrived late or were absent. My teacher, who is otherwise not lenient, said he expected this and he ended class short so that those who didn’t vote yet would have a chance. I thought that was cool.
When I went home, I immediately went online and turned on the television. I had to know what was happening. Obama was ahead. Obama was way ahead. I had hope that Obama would win, but I was afraid of voter fraud and all that. And I thought we wouldn’t know for days. I thought that whoever won would only do so by a few electoral votes. But not only did Obama win, he won by a lot. The media knew he won before they called it. They announced it at 11:01 PM EST, which was 8:01 PST and the polls on the west coast were closed. They didn’t want to announce it while polls there were still open.
I was so excited! I couldn’t believe we already had an answer. I wanted to run around yelling in joy. In 2000, when the Ravens won the Superbowl, the people of Baltimore went outside and ran in the streets, partying and celebrating the victory. I wanted to do the same thing on Tuesday night for Obama.
Every few seconds, I would refresh my screen on the homepage of MySpace. The status messages were pouring in with people being so happy about Obama winning. There were only a very few who posted status updates that were upset that he won. Most were glad (in my friends list anyway). I loved seeing people’s enthusiasm. Even the people who were upset, it was good to see them even caring enough to post about it.
I even liked McCain’s concession speech. You know, I think McCain would have been a better President than Bush if McCain had won the nomination and then the presidency back in 2000. I’m not saying I know for sure whether or not he would have been a great president, but I think he would have been better than Bush.
Wednesday morning at work, you could feel how the company was in a great mood. Most people did not reveal who they were voting for. A lot of people would talk about voting but not say anything about what their views were. They wanted to stay professional. Well, that pretty much went out the window when everyone was like "I’m so glad Obama won!"
So I’m happy about who won the Presidency. I’m happy about how some of the local Maryland issues turned out. I am bummed about how several states voted to disallow gay marriages. I thought Prop 8 in California would have been voted No (no means you’re not in support of banning it), but most people voted Yes. It makes some feel that if California couldn’t get the proposition defeated, what state really has a chance in the future? But I have hope that someday gays will be able to get married or at least civil unions with the same rights throughout the United States and that we will look back at the time when it wasn’t legal as one of our crazy, close-minded mistakes.