Crunchy ‘Nanas

My head is a muddle of thoughts. I kind of don’t know where to focus my attention right now. It’s kind of like waiting for AP exam results in high school. Even if you know you did everything you could, you still can’t relax until you read your result.

I am ready to be proud to be an American again. I can’t bear to think what it will mean if I have to hang my head apologetically and explain to people here in the weeks and years following this election that “yes, I voted but no, I did not vote for him” as I have had to do these past four years.

I am ready to be proud to be an American again. Living overseas, you learn to see your country in a new way. In many ways, you are outside looking in. The media present things differently. Stories aren’t so localized and you begin to see what the British media value, what the rest of the world might value. Sometimes it angers me, puts me on the defensive - it’s too simplified, it doesn’t present the whole story, but other times it seems to hit the nail right on the head and makes me wonder, if the rest of the world sees it, why don’t many Americans?

I am ready to be proud to be an American again. I want to learn tomorrow that, regardless of who wins or loses, this election brought out the masses to vote. If there’s one thing this presidential race has shown, it’s that people are starting to care again. That, in itself, makes me proud.

I am ready to be proud to be an American again. I want to be led by someone who strives for dignity, integrity. I want to be led by someone I can respect.

Don’t get me wrong. My pride has always been here. Even after all the mess I believe that, collectively, Americans are good, hard-working, strong, honorable people - even ones who may not vote the same way as me. But, something’s gone terribly wrong and it’s time to start getting things back on track. Even if Obama wins, it won’t be easy - it’s the nature of the US government after all, but I am hopeful we are on the brink of positive change.

My vote’s been cast. My fingers are crossed. My hopes are strong. It’s time.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, 4th November 2008 at  11:18 and is filed under Random foliage. You can follow responses to this entry using the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.