The Day After

Every election day I'm awed by what our country does. While I wish more people would turn out to the polls consistently, last night more than 100 million Americans made their selections. It was a tight race. One that at any given time in the past two years provoked in people across the country feelings of hurt, anger, patriotism, happiness, pride, and hope, among so many other emotions.

Many of us volunteered for our candidates, whether with our time or our pocketbooks. We participated in what is best about our republic: our firm belief in participation in a democratic process.

Last night, I wanted to watch the results come in with people from across the world. After all, the main reason why I wanted to pursue my Masters degree abroad was to experience different people and cultures.

I started the evening at the annual Coventry Peace Lecture, which was given this year by a professor of American Studies from Swansea University. The talk was about how contemporary memories of war and defeat have been molded in American political rhetoric, culture and society. The speaker talked about the Civil War, and the Vietnam War, and the memories created from both conflicts. It was an interesting lecture and interesting perspective for me to hear, but what I found more interesting was the question/answer session afterwards. Many people used it as a chance to criticize the US on several fronts. It's important, I believe, for us Americans to know how we are sometimes thought of abroad. It's not always pretty, but it's not always ugly, either. Some of the resentment is, in my opinion, misdirected- but not all of it by any stretch.

I hear most often from people I've talked with here the stereotype that Americans don't care about anything but domestic issues. But I strongly disagree. Look at any poll in the last year or more, and it's obvious that Americans are, in general, concerned with our standing in the world. I honestly think that we want to be liked. We want to do "the right thing." It's the American way, after all. We're often idealists, wanting to create a better world for ourselves and those in need- and I believe in part that this idealism comes thanks to the extraordinary history we've lucky enough to come from. The amazing challenges we've overcome.

Look what we've done as a country in the past 200+ years. We became one, separated over the issue of slavery, and came together once again. We've fought and settled world wars, fought and at least symbolically achieved equality for women and minorities. And today, no matter what your politics, we can all respect that history has been made in the fight for equality. I'm not asking that the many millions of McCain supporters celebrate Obama's victory- I understand and respect political differences and the strong emotions that were created throughout the long campaign season. Now is the time to come together as a country capable of such amazing things, to bring our economy back into shape. To find a way to keep our citizens healthy. To work on our aging infrastructure, and mold a path into a future of energy independence (which is intrinsically tied to our economic problems). To work together, democrats and republicans, to show the world how great our country can be.

Last night, after the lecture, I sat in our university bar watching returns. By 4am our time (8pm west coast), there were about 10 or 15 diehard politicos left from several different countries watching with me. As Senator McCain came on the air with his amazing speech, I watched the reactions of my fellow students. Many teared up, and the applause at the end was very powerful. There was such respect shown by everyone in the heavily Obama crowd here in Coventry. I am grateful for Senator McCain's service to our country. And impressed with his presentation last night. And a few minutes later, as President-Elect Obama came to the stage in Chicago, the crowd here in Coventry listened with the same respect, teared up with me again, and joined me in watching history unfold. I was so proud watching both men speak last night. I felt so lucky to come from the United States, and especially lucky to be able to participate in the 2008 election. I don't think I'll ever forget where I was on November 4th, 2008. This appreciation for the capabilities of the American people and our country is something I can understand much more because of my experiences abroad thus far. And it's something I won't soon forget.

Stay tuned for more blog postings, and I promise I won't get political on you again for awhile. :-)