Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Tears of promise, tears of hope

In the neighborhood of modestly priced homes behind my office, one lone house has sported a campaign message in its front yard, a single Obama/Biden sign that miraculously stayed in place for about two months. This morning, the sight of eight identical signs in that same yard made me laugh out loud. I could imagine that family happily and proudly hammering signs into their yard at 10:00 p.m. CST.

First I laughed, then I cried. Again. I’ve cried off and on for two days, not noisily or blubbery, but tears that seemed to spring from a well deep within me, a well overflowing with emotions too powerful to contain.

I’ve been happy with election results before, and sad about them sometimes, too, but never in my life have I been as moved as I am this time. I’m not sure what inspires me most: the historical aspect of the election, the idea of so many people working together to make the moment happen, or the realization that my dream of a peaceful, unified nation is a dream shared by many, many others.

Today I’ve read blogs written by others who admit to bouts of election-inspired weeping, and I’ve seen familiar news anchors and television personalities break down in mid-sentence. It’s reassuring to know that others feel the way I do, that my tears aren't an indication of personal wussiness.

And if you haven’t yet been moved to tears, then go get a tissue and watch this video:



God bless America!

3 comments:

  1. Charles is one amazing guy. Reminds me a lot of my mom...he's only one year older!

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  2. I am thrilled that Obama got elected and was filled with heartaching wonder that this could happen in my lifetime. I'll leave this link with you in case you want to follow along.

    http://www.change.gov/

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  3. Creekhiker, I loved what Charles said about the "wonderful young people." He's lived through a lot of changes, but he's very future oriented.

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    Nan16, even though this election was about the issues, not the skin color of the candidates, I think those of us who are old enough to remember the civil rights movement of the '60s are especially gratified that our country has turned this corner.

    And thanks for the link. I had actually found it earlier today at huffingtonpost.com and was really impressed that they already have this site up and running. What a great idea to keep people interested in their government after the election is over.

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