With Beijing being 13 hours ahead of US East Coast time we have to constantly do mental math calculations in order to follow any important events back home. On 9PM Tuesday night I arranged to meet someone who works for Democrats abroad so I could get an Obama T-shirt, buttons, and stickers for a big election gathering on Wednesday night. Since we are 13 hours ahead, the voting was just getting started in New York by the time I got home at 10PM. I tried to stay up to follow the news but decided I would get some sleep and check things out in the morning. When I awoke there was still little news from the Internet since polling stations were still open for another couple hours.
A large number of our school's staff had election trackers up on their computer screens throughout Wednesday morning as more and more states became bathed in blue. Before noon, it became obvious that Obama was going to be victorious and a general feeling of giddiness filled the halls. Students spontaneously shouted "Obama" as they walked the halls and teachers smiled and shook hands. I felt a great sense of relief to know that for the first time in my adult life there will be a president in office that makes me feel hopeful that our country can be changed for the better. Among the adults in our school there were very few supporters of McCain, and no supporters of Palin. Leading up to the election the non-Americans seemed perpetually perplexed at how so much of the USA could reject the hopeful message of Obama. When looking at opinions from around the world there was virtually no support for McCain. Stories of Palin's ignorance and ineptness became lunch room conversation for several weeks. Looking at the end result, almost half of the USA voted for McCain/Palin. From my international perspective, this seems incomprehensible. Why did they vote for them? Was it guns, gays, abortion? Was it racism, bigotry, or ignorance that prevented them from voting for the candidate with more melanin than them? Was it absolute loyalty to the party that has completely sold its soul to the religious right? What has happened to the Republican Party? How did the party of Lincoln turn into what it has become today?
On Wednesday night more than 50 people gathered at my friend's house to celebrate the end of this election and an Obama victory. At one point CNN played a portion of Obama's victory speech and the room went very quiet wanting to hear his words of hope. I think Obama appeals to many people because of his confidence, hopeful message, and realistic outlook that it will take hard work. His supporters are under no illusions that he will somehow magically fix the myriad of problems that now exist in our country. Many Americans are ready to roll up their sleeves and begin doing the hard work to repair what has been broken. To me, that is the true definition of a Patriot.
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