Obama Election: Reason Triumphs

To my Independent, Conservative, and Centrist friends:

I share your disappointment that the John McCain of 2000 didn't run for the presidency this year. While I'm progressive in my politics, I'm libertarian on social issues. I have great respect for the arguments of Goldwater, Wm F Buckley, Friedman etc. of the conservative intellectual tradition despite my rejection of most of their conclusions.

What really happened this election, though, should give all of you hope.

When I visited Chicago over the summer, I was appalled that my brother and his wife were bashing Michelle Obama over her "really proud" comment. I'm a white, 50ish female, and I totally know what Michelle meant and agreed with the sentiment.

Barack's race is only a symbol, albeit a potent one, for feelings running much, much deeper in our American psyche.

Many of us have been ASHAMED of our country and our fellow citizens for years now. We've watched every foundational principle that made America great--from the ideas of God-given dignity and justice inherent in equal opportunity, to the rights enshrined in the Constitution itself--shredded and trampled by radicals with an authoritarian, theocratic agenda.

I've watched anti-intellectuals held up as role models; I've heard reasoned consideration of facts replaced with emotional rants. We've licensed our airwaves to populist rabble-rousers, abandoning any duty to inform the public of news, facts, or figures. An evil militarism supplanted former policies of global cooperation, just war doctrine, national sovereignty, and common decency. Without charge and without trial, the U.S.A. "disappeared" people, including children. We abused our war prisoners; we tortured human beings and did nothing when our officials lied about it. Our very own secret police listens to our phone calls, compiles databases on private citizens, logs our Internet searches, and reads our emails. Incompetence became a requirement for high executive office, followed closely by blind loyalty and willingness to refuse to enforce the law of the land. Patriotism was replaced by a rabid nationalism reminiscent of the Balkans in pre-World War One Europe, a demagoguery similar to that prevalent during the Great Depression in Germany, and the witch-hunting rhetoric of the McCarthy and Nixon eras. We sneered at education, ignored the well-informed, and spit upon and interrupted reasoned discourse in favor of repetitious 'talking points' based in some alternate reality.

World leaders cringed whenever Bush walked into a room. Our actions as world citizens have been arrogant, ignorant, and disrespectful. No wonder that parties erupted in Japan, in Europe...well, everywhere! with Obama's election. This time, Americans chose a man highly qualified in intellect, character, and judgment to lead the free world. The whole world breathed a sigh of relief.

For the first time in years, I am REALLY REALLY REALLY proud to be a citizen of the United States of America. And it's rather nice that the guy is bi-racial.