Theoretics

The world has inherently changed. Racism is dead. Socialism is the new world order. Everything will be better and worse, all at the same time.

This is pretty much what everyone wants to believe right now.

Tuesday night, at 11:06 pm, I learned that the man I voted for, Barack Obama, was to become the 44th president of the United States. I was excited, thrilled even. Sitting in my computer chair as CNN and The Daily Show alternately told me what was happening (one in a far more entertaining way) I repeatedly thrust my fists into the air, despite the only witnesses with me were my two cats. I was sure that this was a huge next step for my country and the people in it.

I was a little bit wrong.

Within minutes, my facebook newsfeed was full of status updates expressing negative sentiments. There were those threatening to delete their more liberal friends; a Star Wars quote from "Revenge of the Sith" was bandied about with surprising speed; I even witnessed flashbacks to 2004 in the form of Republicans expressing desires to leave the country.

Had everyone gone insane?

I feel like it is far more important to work together for some kind of middle ground. We should be polite and gracious on both sides, despite the disappointment we might feel. There are terrifying issues facing us now, not a few of which were put into effect on Tuesday. Proposition 8 passed in California, and similar measures in Florida and Arizona, while in Arkansas people spat in the faces of children in foster care by saying that gay couples should not be allowed to adopt. We have an economy that is having deep troubles, and some mouth breather on a fox news board posts that we should give our new president "a big parade in dallas".

This is not constructive. This is not intelligent.

This is anti-American.

A few short years ago, Bush and his supporters said that it was anti-American not to support the president in everything he does. Well, I hate to say this, but its time to put up or shut up. We need to work together to fix things, and the only way we can do that is if we're gracious, accepting and polite.