Politics and Presidents and Voting, Oh MY!

Sheesh. Well, where to begin? I guess without saying TOO much, I didn't feel like I had done enough research to make an educated vote. So, I didn't vote. (Sorry, dad.) If I felt really strongly about certain issues, then maybe I would have gone. I did drive by my voting location, but there were long lines and I had to get to work. I grew up conservative republican, and I still tend to lean that way. I was quite surprised about Ryan's opinions that I read on his blog. When we were first talking about getting married (eloping) we did discuss politics. Neither of us felt very strongly about politics, so hearing his opinions now was interesting. Had I made an uneducated vote, I would have gone straight republican.

I would like to remind all the sobbing, crazy women and the hoards of joyous people (and the McCain supporters who assume the world is slowly coming to an end) - Obama is NOT a king. He is a president. He does not have ultimate power. We have a wonderful government setup of checks and balances, vetos, Senate and Congress. There will be no drastic change overnight. Obama will not ruin the country, nor will he fix all the problems. He is just a man. I may not have ever voted for him, but I wish him luck in the tough job ahead. I don't ever wanna do it!

And regarding Prop 8 in California, I surprise myself when I say I have mixed feelings. I have a good friend who is gay, we'll call her Crystal. Crystal has been struggling so much about her feelings, her family, and the Church. It's hard to see someone you love and care about have those kinds of tough issues to deal with. The marriage aspect is hard for me, because I still believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, but I don't want Crystal to be denied anything that she wants. As for other gay people, I really don't care. I only care about Crystal. But everyone has a Crystal in their life. Anyway.

I was interested at the very beginning of the race to see if this country as a whole would be more tolerant of religion (Mitt Romney), gender (Hillary Clinton), or race (Barack Obama). The one thing that I can say I'm happy about is, parties and opinions aside, the majority of Americans stood behind a man who happened to be a minority. What an accomplishment. Something that has come to mind for the last several weeks is a part of the Pledge of Alleigance: one nation, under God, indivisible. That word - indivisible - just gives me chills. For all our differences and diversity, we must be indivisible, we are indivisible.

Now THAT is something!