I decided to blog this because I thought Mr. Dreher expressed a very important point about the Obama victory, despite having different views himself he graciously understands the importance of this victory and the impact it has on the population. Personally my biggest fear is the divisive and spiteful way I have seen some people treat each other (on both sides of the fence). I refuse to believe every conservative is an "idiot" or "racist" or "mindless, greedy, guntotin' moneyhoarder". I refuse to believe every liberal is a "anarchistic, emo veggie-downing loony bent on Communism". I just refuse, call me stubborn. Call me idealistic. I think there is more to us - ALL of us - than this. I think we can do better than this. This glib divisiveness - more than any presidential pick - is what has the power to harm America, for when we fight each other, we have little energy or vision by which to focus on other things. By fighting each other, we are blind to what may be done to our laws behind our backs, and for this reason I hope sincerely people can learn to work together and move forward. I don't think when "our" or "their" party wins, that change begins. Change begins with the people, and that's why this particular victory will resonate so deeply...record voting, and an entire segment of the US population no longer disenfranchised symbolically by its own political system, the first black president. Powerful stuff. Anyway, I respect these people who may not share my views and yet see the underlying importance of an election like this. Seeing the faces of people alight with hope and stunned (but positive) disbelief from New Orleans to Harlem made me excited for this country in a whole new way, knowing each person's road to this day was not the same as mine, I was still filled with excitement for seeing the faces of African-Americans, for what would have been unthinkable 50 years ago, for what maybe some thought would never come. It needed to come. Its RIGHT that it finally did and I hope he proves to be an exemplary president for the betterment of America and global relations. Anyway, here you go - Rod Dreher's post, his bio and the source are linked below. Enjoy, and congratulations America. :) -Shadowdamage ************************************** OBAMA IS PRESIDENT! CNN just called it for Obama. The United States of America has just elected its first black president. Look at that crowd in Chicago, will you?! It's stunning. Waving American flags, ebullient. CNN is focusing on all the happy young faces, but a moment ago, there was an image of a grey-haired older black man, standing there looking overcome by the gravity of the moment. I would love to know what's going through his mind right now, and his heart. This is an amazing moment in our history. Even if you didn't vote for him, you have to concede it. I hope you will all join me and pray for our new president, and for our country. It's a new world now. Last night, I read a story in our local city magazine, D, about the Jewish experience in Dallas. There was a long passage in which the author discussed how powerful the KKK was in Dallas County back in the 1920s. It was thoroughly mainstream (I'm proud to say my newspaper, The Dallas Morning News, fought them). Tonight, a black man running for president of the United States won Dallas County. I am a Dallas County Republican, and I didn't vote for Obama. But that's pretty damn great. UPDATE: I wish to associate myself with Ross Douthat's remarks, especially this: And then, of course, there's the fact that Obama has just been elected President of a nation in which he could have been bought and sold as a slave just seven generations ago. I don't think there are any words adequate to the occasion of America electing its first black President, so I'll just say this: This may be a bleak day for the Republican Party and for conservatism, but come what may in the years ahead, it's a great day for our country. Barack Obama deserves congratulations, tonight, but so does the nation he's about to govern: We've come a long, long way. ***************** Rod Dreher is an editorial columnist for the Dallas Morning News, and author of "Crunchy Cons" (Crown Forum), a nonfiction book about conservatives, most of them religious, whose faith and political convictions sometimes put them at odds with mainstream conservatives. The views expressed in this blog are his own. Source: http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/2008/11/obama-is-president.html