Obama in Austin

It’s still surreal, my mind swimming around to grasp this concept… “President Obama“.  Hmmm…

The local pub I had chosen to view the evening’s election coverage was a mix of dancing lunatics, gitty smiling girls, and proud drunks… and maybe a few legitimately intelligent democrats.  Not able to isolate anything more than positive sounds in the background, I let myself go back to my political upbringing.  A stubbornly conservative father.  An ignorant passive mother.  And me, the apathetic kid who would rather change the channel to ER.

I don’t know how much has changed since then.  I still feel somewhat detached from the process, even more so now as I believe I’ll be spending most of my life abroad, but I’ve seen firsthand how another corner of the world lives, and what we have in this country that makes it so desirable to others.  It is, without a doubt, possibility.

Obama does bring that to the table.  But what concerned me when the numbers started pouring in was how many people might be blind to everyone but that fact; yes, it would be amazing if an African-American were to be elected president, but no one should vote for someone based solely on the fact that he is black, or offers the possibility of being in such a position, or is a radical change… and although I don’t think most people did so, I do believe some did.  That’s not how we should choose a world leader.

Is Obama right for the job?  Of course.  And although a record number of Americans made the effort to get out the vote and do their homework this time around, there is always going to be a significant percentage that are blinded to anything outside their world…

“I guess if Obama is elected president, he bring all his socialist friends into the white house… all the blacks… he’s a socialist, he’s going to ruin everything….”  My racist grandfather, approaching 94, certainly isn’t going to change his views anytime in near future.

I waddled up to the bar and sat next to a pretty girl, the only one in the room who looked like she was on the verge of tears (angry tears)… I guess that’s what you get being a McCain supporter in Austin.

Out on the streets, one could hear the occasional horns being honked, the university students taking control of the outlying roads to campus and parading all through the night.  

Downtown at the Driskill Hotel (HQ of Texas Democrats), a small crowd had gathered and began a makeshift dance to the beat of African drums around an Obama/Biden Texas flag.  A father carried an Obama cardboard cutout in one hand for pictures, and pushed his daughter in a wheelchair with the other.  The enthusiasm of this city for one cause was so similar to the winning results of football games, many people instinctively raised their horns and instead of cheering for a University of Texas victory, shouted “Obama!!!!” to any who passed within reach.

I chose the least crowded rooftop bar I could find and went to have a aerial view of this city of mine.  A few people below were ducking around the street corners to vomit; occasionally someone would look right at me staring, raise their hands, and yell “Obama!”; a African-American woman punched her boyfriend hard in the shoulder upon learning he hadn’t voted.  Everywhere my attention focused, there was all this talk of Obama and change… change…

I suppose that’s where I get my political apathy from; the mudslinging during campaigns is a strong deterrent, but overall, I just believe anyone we elect president is not a deal-breaker.  The world would not suddenly split in two if McCain were to have been elected, or, if you prefer a more down-to-earth example, the United States would not find itself in a war with every last nation on the planet.  Nor will electing Barack suddenly give license to every liberal group in the country to get their way 100% of the time; the Republicans will not secede to form a new Confederacy; they will accept this election and their children will be exposed to that idea once again: possibility.

Things may get better.  They may get worse.  But the United States isn’t going to get torn in half, and I think we can all agree: I’ve never been more excited to see what’s around the corner.