I have a confession to make. I cast my ballot for Barack Obama in a state that has voted “Red” in every presidential election since 1968. While President-elect Obama most definitely won the popular vote on the national level, my voice was swept to the side as Kansas voted Red again. Since the United States’ bases the winner of its presidential elections on the number of electoral votes a candidate can garner, my vote technically did not contribute to Obama’s win. Rather, it was just a voice in a crowd of millions that was lost in the pandemonium.
While I could debate the ethics and practicality of the Electoral College for hours, I won’t here. I will spend this time to address the sheer anger that I’ve witnessed since Barack Obama was elected president. Living covertly in “enemy territory,” my jubilant celebrations upon hearing of Obama’s victory were frowned upon. In fact, several friends of mine spent the night grieving and cursing. Most notably were the comments I received after posting my most recent post on Facebook.
Facebook is definitely the most popular form of communication among my generation, and is the only way I can communicate my blog posts to them. I use as evidence my last post received almost no attention on this page, while my post on Facebook garnered over 65 comments over the course of less than 24 hours.
My comments on them will be limited, but the sheer amount of rage, vitriol, and complete adversity to the election of Barack Obama was shocking to me, even as a Blue man in a Red land. Everyone who commented on the post are good friends of mine, so when the nature of the responses turned towards personal attacks, I had to quickly shut down the post. I’ve talked with a few of those friends since and we’ve had a good laugh over how ridiculous it was, but realized how close to a second Civil War we got.
Think about that: simply because a Democrat, notably a black man, was elected into office, debate that started out in a civil manner quickly turned dark and had some of the discussions occurred in person, punches would have surely followed… all among friends!
America has come a long way, and I think Tuesday’s election is a prime example of how far we’ve come since not just the Civil Rights Movement, but also the Civil War. Although I can’t help but wonder, is Barack Obama’s victory merely a cover-up for the dissenting views that still permeate in America? The landscape is still divided between Red vs. Blue and states battle out every four years if they will be Red or Blue, free or slave. Has America truly changed? I hope so. Time will tell, but I again reach out to my Red brothers and sisters - America has survived for over 230 years. She’s had some great Presidents, she’s also had some bad ones. Ranging from Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was either a savior or a step above a commie depending on your views, to Nixon, who is undoubtedly one of the most disgraceful figures in American history, the Republic has endured, and endure it shall under President Obama.
I dare say, America will prosper over the next 4 years! At home and abroad, America is on the cusp of a rebirth that will make all Americans, Blue and Red, proud to live in a country so great. This can also be an opportunity for us to tear down the walls that still divide us (the Electoral College is one) and for us to unite, not just as a country, but as a people.
