- I'm grateful that as a country, we've decided that the content of our character is more important than the color of our skin.
- I'm grateful for all the courageous men and women who made the election of Barack Obama possible: Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jesse Jackson, Rosa Parks, John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Toot, and so many many more.
- I'm grateful for the peaceful election we experienced. We did not have to march, file lawsuits, or resort to violence in order to get ballots counted yesterday. Lines were long, but no blood was shed trying to vote.
- I'm grateful I had a front row seat to the most historic event of my lifetime.
- I'm grateful that every child in America got up Wednesday morning confident that finally each and every one of them could become President.
- I'm grateful for Hope.
- I'm grateful for a leader who takes deliberate action based on knowledge and not ego.
- I'm grateful for all the talented candidates who subjected themselves to all the public scrutiny and exhausting work of a political campaign in their effort to make the world a little better.
Leaving the world a little better than I found it by sharing my passions and dreams, what inspires me, and maybe you too, and furthering the discussion about how we can listen to our better angels.
Pages
▼
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Post-Election Gratitude
November is a month that always makes me think of gratitude. I'm sure it has a lot to do with Thanksgiving later in the month. Today, I believe I have so much to be grateful for and I'm feeling more gratitude than I've felt in a long time.
Honestly, as a woman, I still remain uncertain that a woman can truly become president of this fine country - at least not any time soon. It was 140 years between the date when African Americans got the right to vote and the election of a Black president. If something similar happens for women, we won't see our first woman president until 2060.
ReplyDeleteSorry to be so cynical about this, but the reaction of many so-called Democratic and Progressive men toward the campaign of Hilary, and the horrible anti-women behaviors they demonstrated, make me have less hope on this issue.
Although I am still happy about this Presidential election.
I can appreciate how you feel Gourmet Goddess. I have wondered the same thing. And certainly the GOP VP candidate (I will not repeat her name) did nothing to further the cause.
ReplyDeleteWhat I am inspired by is just how close Hillary came. I believe there are lessons to be learned from Hillary and Barack's campaigns that we, as women, can and should learn from.
I know that we disagreed on Hillary vs. Barack, but as Gloria Steinman said yesterday on Oprah, we were so fortunate to have an embarrassment of riches to choose from. I could have supported Hillary in a second and it was actually a difficult choice for me.
What I took away Tuesday night was that as a country, we no longer limit the Presidency to middle aged white men. We've changed that paradigm and that will make it easier for women.
This feminist was torn between voting for the brilliant woman senator from New York and my own brilliant senator. What it finally came down to for me was my opposition to the Iraq War. When the Senate voted in favor of the resolution that Bush used to go to war, I declared that all who voted for it should be removed from office. I had to stand by that. Hillary never disavowed her vote and I believe she never did for political reasons. She just wasn't going to be The One for me.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I believe with all my being that Obama's election has shattered the glass ceiling in the Oval Office for all minorities and women. It will happen sooner than later for us. And for that, I am grateful.