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Still reeling!
Nov. 5th, 2008 01:27 pmI was relieved to wake up this morning, turn on the news, and see that not only did I not dream the results of last night's election, but that unlike in 2000, they hadn't changed overnight. It's funny how I didn't think a lot about the meaning of electing a black president until just the last day or so. I didn't think much about Obama being black. He was a Democrat, and the candidate whose views were closest to my own, and so I supported him. But stepping back and thinking about it, I can't help but be overwhelmed with emotion.
I grew up in North Carolina, a place where schools and other public places were legally desegregated just a few years before I was born. My father played football on his high school's first integrated football team, and my mom was a cheerleader on the school's first integrated cheerleading squad. My parents raised me to look past skin color, despite the fact that my grandparents were (and still are) openly racist.
I don't yet know how my father voted. He is an evangelical Christian, and so I suspect he may have voted for McCain. My mother is a committed Republican, but was leaning toward Obama until Palin joined McCain's ticket. (She adores Palin, for reasons that baffle me.) My aunt updated her FB status last night with a statement about what a "horrible mistake" America had just made.
But my sister, a registered Republican, voted for Obama. My cousin, who was very active in his College Republicans group and is now a grad student, voted for Obama. And though it's still very close, it looks like North Carolina just might turn blue. Jesse Helms' senate seat went to a Democrat last night! This is in a state where racist campaign commercials were aired as recently as 1990.
If even North Carolina can change, I have hope for my country. So much hope!
I grew up in North Carolina, a place where schools and other public places were legally desegregated just a few years before I was born. My father played football on his high school's first integrated football team, and my mom was a cheerleader on the school's first integrated cheerleading squad. My parents raised me to look past skin color, despite the fact that my grandparents were (and still are) openly racist.
I don't yet know how my father voted. He is an evangelical Christian, and so I suspect he may have voted for McCain. My mother is a committed Republican, but was leaning toward Obama until Palin joined McCain's ticket. (She adores Palin, for reasons that baffle me.) My aunt updated her FB status last night with a statement about what a "horrible mistake" America had just made.
But my sister, a registered Republican, voted for Obama. My cousin, who was very active in his College Republicans group and is now a grad student, voted for Obama. And though it's still very close, it looks like North Carolina just might turn blue. Jesse Helms' senate seat went to a Democrat last night! This is in a state where racist campaign commercials were aired as recently as 1990.
If even North Carolina can change, I have hope for my country. So much hope!
