The election.

On this election eve, I figured I'd better say a few words about it. I have a very strong feeling that something extremely monumental is about to happen tomorrow and I'd at least like to personally document it with a blog. So here are my thoughts on the subject...

20 years ago, would anyone have thought that a black man would be running for President? How about a woman running for Vice President? I don't think so. This marks a change in our history that I am very proud to be a part of. I hope my children will never know a time that people don't think "a black man can win". I hope they will never be able to imagine that a woman would be looked down upon for running for Vice President when "she should be staying home with her disabled child." Do you think they would be saying this if she were a man? I don't think so.

Our country has come a long way and I am damn proud to be able to vote in such a historic race. My friend Ana posed a question to me yesterday. As a McCain voter, she said, "Since Obama has this one in the bag, the question is this. Do we vote Obama so we can say that we voted for the first black President?" I laughed it off, but kept coming back to the question in my head.

We all vote for what will benefit ourselves and our family. Each American has the right to vote for what suits them best. This year, Obama has somehow made voting cool. Good for him. We have the right to do it and so many Americans, namely young ones, take that privilege for granted. I just hope that people vote for what they really believe in, not what they think is 'cool'. This year it is not popular among my generation to vote for John McCain. I think the fear is that McCain will be just like George Bush and will sink our country into even worse times than we are experiencing now. I wonder if people even know, good or bad, what George Bush has done? There is so much bashing...but for what? I would guess most of the folks that are complaining so vehemently about GW don't even know what he has done at all. I am ashamed to say that I don't follow the news like I should and I don't know either. Then again, I don't bash the poor guy. I think he is doing the best he can do with what he has. The invisible hand that governs our ecomony has reared its ugly head in these past months and he is really suffering from it. Will our economy bounce back? Of course it will. Just remember that it wont be the doing of the soon-to-be elected President...either which way it goes!

Which leads me back to the question Ana posed. I do think Obama will win this year? Like she said....Electorally he has probably got it in the bag. She claimed that they will drag it out to make it look really close, but in reality the swing states might not even matter this year. And she is probably right. Obama will win and hopefully we will see the 'Change' he is promising. As for me, I must still vote for McCain. It is the right decision for our family and I just can't go the other way. Socially I am definitely Democrat. Gay marriage? I don't see why not. I don't see why anyone should not be able to live happily together as a married couple if they choose. Many other of the Democratic social issues, I stand behind. In fact, I took one of those quizzes to see which candidate I matched most closely with, and my result was Obama. Having that said, tax wise, I just cannot do it. I will be awarded a very hefty tax increase if and when Obama wins that I am not looking forward to. No, it is not voting for the bigger picture, but I will carry that. Yes I am looking out for #1, but I hope we all do that. If we don't look out for ourselves no one will.

So, would I like to say I voted for the first American black President? Yes, but at the end of the day, I can't do it. So I will watch Obama win tomorrow and it will be OK. I think he is a good man that means well; just a good man that didn't have my vote. What I do hope though, is that we can look back on this day and be proud. Proud of how far our slave owning country has come. Proud that color is mattering less and less. Proud that we are one step closer to equality.

Now let me go wash my red shirt and prepare to stand in line all day tomorrow with a 3 month old. Won't that be fun!?? ;) Happy Election Eve everyone!