Last night, the President-Elect was decided. That person was Senator Barack Obama.
I'm glad people are happy and feel optimistic about the future. They feel like change can really happen and that American’s worst days are behind her and the light is at the end of the tunnel. I feel happy for those people that have never been able to fathom the notion of a black President. It has happened and it brings tears to a lot of people's eyes; I even got a bit emotional watching CNN's analyst Rolland Martin tearing up. Millions of people rejoiced in America and around the world. The leaders of the European countries and other countries around the globe are happy to see the American people move past the last two elections where we elected George Bush and now we make this drastic change to Barack Obama in 2008. Thousands in Chicago, New York and in small towns across America, people are filled with hope about the future.
I'm not. I'm not in the least bit optimistic about the future. Hope is great. People wrongly downplayed that during the campaign. Obama gives people hope and you can't deny that. Hope enables people to get things down and believe in themselves. However, the direction in which you point the motivation hope allows for, is important. Hope for more government to fix our problems isn't the right direction. I saw exit polls that stated half of voters think the government is the answer to the problems. No, government is the reason for the problems. Americans need to stop looking far and wide to D.C. for solutions. Look inward. Look at ourselves for the answer. We always have the answer if we seek it. Government doesn’t. Government creates short-term fixes that become long-term catastrophes.
Now don't get me wrong in the least. I'm not a McCain supporter. Regardless of whether McCain or Obama got into the White House, I'd be feeling pessimistic about the future of The United States of America. I don't think either of them have the right solutions for these growing problems. On my ballot, anything with an 'R' or a 'D' next to it got shunned because they are the problem. There are those that say I should swallow my principles, my morals, my ideology, my philosophy and my pride and unite under Obama as President. The problems are too pressing for petty political partisanship right? I should do it for the good of the country right? Wrong. I will not do that for the sake of doing it and sacrifice all of the aforementioned concepts. For the good of my country, I'd rather oppose policies I think are disastrous for the country. And make no mistake about it; the policies Obama will introduce are disastrous. Any time we allow government to grow, it isn't good for the country in the long-run.
People have this deluded notion that anybody who gets into the Oval Office will be able to fix the problems facing this country with a snap of their fingers. Change isn't coming in four years. It isn't even coming in eight years. The major problems we face will take over a decade and then some to fix. So those Americans looking for short-term fixes keep searching. That is one of the reasons I feel people will grow tired of Obama after four years because he isn't able to answer the problems that he promised he would answer. It just can't be done even if he wanted to. There are those that say Obama can get the ball moving on change, sure. He can. But that is what scares me because that ball is a snowball rolling down a slippery slope; a slippery slope of more government. Therefore, it would take longer for those limited government advocates (like myself) to reverse such momentum. Not to mention Obama will have the power of a Democratic led Congress behind him. That much power in the hands of one party is terrifying. Power in the hands of both of these horrid parties is bad enough, but creating a monopoly of sorts for one of them? No thanks. I just hope that Obama is the 'uniter' he proclaims and doesn't become a lap dog for Clinton, Pelosi and Reid. People seem to forget that the President literally has less power over the direction the country goes than Congress. Congress controls the purse strings and that is all that matters. We're quick to throw Bush under the bus (and he deserves to go under), but we forget about the Democratic Congress of the last two years that have personified inaction.
Let me close this with a look at the historical note. I was thinking heavily about this last night. As someone that is eighteen years old, I've never thought about race in the context it was thought about and of decades past. So for me, it is hard for me to understand what this historical note really means to people on an emotional and personal level. I can't relate and I can't comprehend it. Obviously, anyone with an understanding of history in America will know the importance of having a black man as the next President of the United States. The enormity of it is incalculable. But again, on the truly personal level that touches so many people and not just African Americans of this country, but also white people that helped in the movement as well; I can't put myself in their hearts and souls and feel the euphoria they are experiencing.
So yes Americans, be proud of what you have done. The moment is great. We have made great strides in silencing the racial undertones and blatant racism in America. You silenced the pundits that called for a ‘Bradley Effect’ to happen. But we aren’t done. We have a lot of work to do on the front of accepting minorities in this country. We may never eradicate racism in America, but we can continue to try. We also have to work towards changing societies views against Muslim people, homosexuals and even the Mexican immigrants to this country. These are problems that don’t have easy solutions and you can’t fix them with monetary compensation (as the government does with everything). That doesn’t mean we can’t look to find answers though. An African American just became the President-Elect of the United States. That opens the doors to any kind of minority in America that wants to. Now African American, Asian, Hispanic, homosexual, atheist or Muslim parents can look at their children and say, ‘You can do that. You really can.’ So I applaud Barack Obama for shattering that glass ceiling that has hung like a dark cloud over American for far too long. I think it is fantastic. I just wish the candidate behind the historical note fit my political beliefs more.
I could be wrong about all of this and the next four or eight years could be glorious for America and the rest of the world. Not to sound arrogant, but I wouldn’t bet on it. We'll see.