With the recent election still lingering in the minds of all Americans, I have decided to write a post that states my opinion. I'm tired of seeing it on Facebook and Twitter and such, so this is the only place you will see me write about politics.
I was watching the news as the votes were coming in and they were tallying the number for each side. It was almost like watching a sports game (and we all know that the news is only for entertainment purposes anyway). Down to the last few seconds, it was getting pretty intense. And then they announced that Ohio went to Obama and that he was re-elected as President of the United States.
I was sitting there, a little disappointed because I usually root for the underdog, but satisfied with the result. Like watching the Cook Islands season of Survivor, you're rooting for Ozzy but it's okay that Yul won. I sat back for a second and thought about what it would mean for our country. Not much would change. But other than gas and milk prices, I'm pretty satisfied with the way the country is now. So to me, as a "Republican" (I use the term loosely because I don't really agree with them much, but I lean more in that direction than Democrat. They should have a "Patty" party.) it wasn't a big deal that Obama won.
Then I made the mistake of checking my Facebook. Most of my friends are strong Republicans, and the news feed blew up with comments like "OMG were all going too dye!!!" and "lets all moove to canaduh lol". I was taken aback by the amount of hatred I saw from people that claim to love everyone. Also the lack of grammar and spelling. Additionally, I noted that many of these were people that refused to support Romney previously because he was a Mormon. I decided to take the night off from Facebook and go read a book instead, trying to wait out the storm of poo that was flying around on the internet.
I have been thinking the last couple of days about why I was angry at those people on the internet and why I didn't take part in the poo-flinging party. By all rights I should have, or at least been adequately disappointed that Romney didn't win. But for some reason it didn't seem to matter all that much to me. Why?
Then I realized I had come to actually like Obama. He's not the most ideal person for the job, but who is, really? And it doesn't only have to do with his title as President. He cares about his family, he obviously has a good personality, and he cares about people. Were I ever to meet him, I think he would be an enjoyable individual.
And if he really is a nice person, how is it that he would choose to not only do one term, but two terms as President of a country that half the population will hate him no matter what he does? It must take a toll on him to know that and have to deal with it daily. But he continues on. That tells me he is strong and that he is willing to make personal sacrifices to see that his country has a good leader. And we need someone like that in the White House. It's easy for someone like Romney to take advantage of already present animosity toward Obama to rally support than it is for someone to be picked at and analyzed for four years and still keep supporters. And yet, he kept it. And for that I commend him.
As President, I think both candidates had equal potential to do both good and bad in the White House. And as people, I think both would be enjoyable. When did we stop thinking about our President as a person and start thinking of him as a vending machine?
So I support Obama in the White House, because not supporting him means not supporting our nation , and in turn, ourselves. And while I have in the past been apathetic on the subject, I realized after studying different cultures that we truly are a blessed nation. And though my dreams of world travel may be wonderful, I will always consider America as my home.
One of my favorite quotes from the election:
"No matter who wins tonight, America wins. We are blessed to be able to elect our nation's leader when so many others cannot.”-Rick Dunkle, writer for Criminal Minds
And my all-time favorite quote from the election:
"In the midst of the election chaos, Nicholas Cage quietly sneaks away with the Declaration of Independence" -Unknown
God bless America, including and especially President Obama.
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