So the big night finally came, and for many of us, we could stop holding our breath and finally believe it was really happening. Barak Obama was finally Elected President. The resounding Electoral victory by which he took his victory was wonderful to see.
The coverage, particularilly on MSNBC, took a heavilly racial slant. Although I must admit to myself getting a little misty at the sight of Jesse Jackson watching the scene unfold in the park, with tears streaming down his face, I thought th percistence with which they dwelled upon the significance of his win as a black man took away from the significance of his win as an inspiring leader who has an opportunity and the potential to change the course of American life for a generations to come.
All the same, there is no avoiding the fact that even just in the act of winning this election, The world is changed. It was not the same place Nov 5 as the day before. Not to suggest that this is the end of racism or inequality. Judging from some people's reactions to the event, quite the contrary, but I couldn't help but feel that it was the beginning of the End. I would like to hope that that day marked in a more decicive fashion an end to conservatism as we have known it.
I was impressed with McCain's concession speech and thought he was particularilly gracious. I wish I could say the same for those gathered there to see him speak. I couldn't make out much of the things being shouted into the air between the boos and so on, but I remember thinking this was for the best as they were only likely to ruin my mood if I could. I found it most ironic that those who railed so strongly against the suggestion that they were "bitter" people, turned out , in defeat, to be just that. An election such as this, where little was offerered in terms of anything to believe in from the Republican Party, stripped it down to it's bare base. It is now painfully obvious what kind of people this base is made up of. I think that, as much as the failings of the Republican Congress and Administration, will leave a negative impression on many many voters for a number of election cycles to come, for new and young voters just comin to the process, perhaps a lifetime.
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The tone was racial because that's just the way it is in the US. In my experience living there, everything--and I do mean EVERYTHING--is seen through the filter of race. You are black-white-hispanic first...everything else second...and every issue is made into a racial issue.
I've noticed that the brief times I've been down there about my Canadian nationality.
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