“Everybody look up, and feel the hope that we’ve been waiting for…”

Written on Wednesday, Nov. 5th (early in the morning)–have been in the bed since, so I never published!  Just a few thoughts….

Barack Hussein Obama will be our 44th President.

I am just waking up from a long, emotional night.  I’ve been sick as a dog, but last night, I just wanted to await the results with the supporters and volunteers that I’d worked so hard with on this campaign (albeit, late in the game) from the county headquarters and beyond.  We didn’t carry the county, or the state, but we carried the NATION.  I will admit I’m a little surprised the Democratic vote didn’t take this area, but I think people are genuinely concerned that their jobs will come to an end (several defense contractors in the area).  I hope they have nothing to be concerned about–they have been working for the Department of Offense for several years now, and I think a return to the former should stimulate growth.

I am elated, awed and humbled–all at the same time.  This is what we worked so hard for.  To see the happiness and tears on the faces at Grant Park and in the impromptu celebrations all around the nation, as well as the sheer joy in the room during the Democratic election party I attended last night, made me so hopeful for our future as a nation.  I’ve been aware from my first introduction to Barack Obama, through his books, that he was a man of mixed heritage from the union of a White American and a Black African (not of American slave descent), but the election is so much sweeter for the Civil Rights Movement activists that lived to vote for him, and lived to see his victory. It is only because of their struggle to simply be equal, that any of this was possible.

I do not expect President Obama (oh GOD, it’s nice to finally type that) to change the world in 5 minutes, nor do I expect him to bring about the end of days.  I do expect him to continue to bring this nation together, as evidenced by what we’ve seen in his campaign management and in the unity of his enthusiastic, diverse  supporters…hopeful for a new direction. 

Government may not always be the answer, but we can’t rule it out for the biggest questions.  I don’t feel that this administration will use government for evil, because he has stated over and over again how much he wants America to progress.  Being realistic, I know that I won’t even agree with 100% of his decisions; but the level of concern he has for our well-being means he knows that the decisions he will make will not just affect me, or just Alabama, or just the Southeast, or just the United States. I think the world feels that way too, hence their shared enthusiasm.

We have just opened the floodgate of possibilites, folks.

One gripe: I was disappointed in the choice for his victory music.  Since I heard him speak at the Democratic National Convention, I just imagined “Brand New Day” (Everybody Rejoice) from The Wiz playing as he left the stage. No preference here–either the Broadway musical or the Movie version.  I have been hearing this song bounce around in my head for about 22 months now.  Every time I heard him speak–soaring rhetoric though it might have been–I just heard this song.  I was surprised that it never surfaced as a theme for the campaign.  I think they missed a genuine, heartstring-tugging opportunity.  Look it up, and tell me what you think.