I could give a hundred reasons why and a hundred reasons why the vote was tenuous, but, just the same, it was my one vote and I cast it.
Today, I awoke to the fact that Bush won the election. It wasn't as close electorally as Bush/Gore was. And Bush also won the popular vote.
I had hoped to see some kind of change, but it didn't happen. The majority of my fellow citizens felt differently.
So today, I'm going on with my life. A shrug and a realization that in a democracy, there is always a chance that the side you voted for won't win.
I figure that tomorrow is still going to happen, and the day after that. And that the happiness and success of myself and my family will deal much more greatly with my own actions that those of whoever happens to be in the White House.
My self worth won't be decided by the election. My own commitment to certain ideals won't be changed by the ballot counts. My hope for a better day for all of us will continue to beat in my chest.
But I may also take it on my shoulders and say that if I feel the current administration will make things more difficult for some, then I can do what I feel I can to help those folks out. I can donate some of my money to relief efforts. I can try to find job opportunities for folks who don't have them now. I can make sure that gay friends and family members know that I love them for who they are and make sure that I don't restrict them from any liberty that I choose to take.
I can also say to the losing party for whom I barely cast my vote for: You almost lost me this year. You lost a lot of folks like me. Think about how important our votes have been and could have been. Will you run farther away from me and mine, or will you stop heading in directions we're not quite willing to follow you to?
But all in all, my side lost. I am not packing my bags and moving to Canada. I am not contributing to legal funds to challenge votes honestly cast. I won't keep telling myself I live in a divided nation.
I know this isn't 1860 or even 1968. We are not as divided as they want us to believe. We're all Americans and we turned out in droves, historic ones, to exercise our right to vote.
I won't cuss, scream and sulk about the results. I'll take some pride that we all thought that our right to vote was important enough to exercise it. And I'll accept the results like an adult should and go on with my life.
I won't cast a baleful eye to those in power, I'll just keep the same watchful eye on them that we, as Americans, should always do, no matter who is in power.
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