Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Election Day Plea

Today is election day here in the United States and the course of our country for the next several years will be charted as people go to the ballots all over the nation.  I have made no mistake of my support for Senator McCain for President, and as we go into the final hours, it looks like there is a path to victory for him, but it looks even more likely that we will soon be swearing in Senator Obama as our 44th President.

To all 15 of you who read my blog: go out tomorrow and exercise what is without a doubt your most sacred duty as citizens of this country.  No matter who you support, please go vote.

Every four years we get into long, drawn out election cycles.  Opinions are shared - sometimes forcefully - emotions run deep, and occasionally angers flare up.  People come up with lists of reasons why they do not like the opposing candidate and warn of doom and gloom should that person be elected.  On November 4th, we go to the polling place and cast our ballot for the individual who we feel best represents us and what direction we are looking for in our country.  And then we wait for the results.

For half of the country, those results will be exciting news.  For the other half, those results will be disappointing.  Elections are very good at dividing us along partisan lines, and in some respects that is a healthy part of the electing contest, but come November 5th and for the next several years we are going to have to do our best to put away those divisions and come together to work with whomever was chosen as our leader so that our country can progress.  Blame who you will, the fact stands that the last several years have been marked by increasing and deepening ideological chasms that have been to the detriment of our culture and our society.

In mid-January, we are going to swear in a new President, and that man will need our support if we are to move forward as a country.

My plea, then, is to prepare yourself for accepting the winner of this election with grace and class.  It may be hard to think of supporting the opponent (I have real fears about an Obama administration; girlvet has real fears about a McCain administration), but it is necessary - not to become robots or rubber stampers, but to agree to sustain the man chosen as our leader and do what we can to see that our country keeps moving.

I have spent years in Europe and the South Pacific and I have traveled to several other countries, and every single time I am excited to come home.  I love this country.  I love our people.  I love our culture.  I love our diversity.  I love our freedom.  I love that no matter who is elected, we will be breaking down senseless barriers.  And I love that even in my deep blue state, my voice will still be heard tomorrow, and that no matter what, I will always have the unique opportunities that come from being a citizen of this great land.

God bless our country, and God bless us to do our best to keep it a land worthy of blessing.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't know if I even want to know what you mean by "keep it a land worthy of blessing."

All I can say is, I am very afraid of what might happen if McCain wins.

But free speech is a wonderful thing.

Anonymous said...

AMEN my friend, we are the privileged few who actually have the opportunity to have a voice. A voice before, during and after the election. Our duty as a citizen reaches far beyond the ballot we post.
Well said.
Change is a great thing, no matter who's face it is.