My brother just emailed me and our distribution list the following thoughts, and I wanted to share them here. They're sentiments many people are expressing here and around the country, and I hope that however this all turns out that thoughts like these will live on for a while. It's good for us.
Enjoy.
The day has come! I cast my ballot about ten minutes ago and in spite of the whole process taking nearly 3 hours (bring a good book and good attitude if you haven't voted already) it was absolutely electrifying! The line at my particular location has been wrapped around the outside of the building since 8 o' clock this morning and was only getting longer as I left. Everyone I saw and spoke with was in good spirits, friendly, excited, and clearly relieved that soon we will all be able to make nice with each other again. As George World War Bush noted, it's hard work being involved in the management of this magnificent country and I have never been more proud to be a part of the task.
The passionate and unprecedented anticipation engulfing us over the past year has proven fertile ground for uncommon greatness and unspeakable evil. More citizens will be voting in this election than ever before. Registered voters young and old who've long believed in defeatist and irresponsible notions like "one vote doesn't count," or that the candidates are "identical," or that by not voting they will somehow make a statement on the inherent fallibility of our system, have now shed their helpless nihilism in favor of meaningful, participatory activism. The criminal, hurtful and often times juvenile behavior inspired by the passions of the campaign is far outweighed by the newly recovered sense of honorable duty that we Americans have again and at last embraced. Millions are now seizing the opportunity of our resources to dig up legitimate and objective reports on the conflicting ideologies of the two predominant political parties. Better yet, we are discussing these philosophies with our friends and neighbors, which can only lead to a true American renaissance.
Media fatalists love to expound on the arrival of some multi-headed beast of corruption, litigation, and chaos that is all but certain to arise in the next 36 hours. They encourage us to get ready for the worst, to be suspicious, and to resent the future. One might attribute this attitude to living in a post 9/11 world but it's actually more comparable to the widely predicted hellfire's of Y2K that turned out to be little more than a damp match. Only time will tell but after the frequent yet uneventful fluctuation we've seen on Ashcroft's threat thermometer over the past apocalypse-free 2 1/2 years, it seems reasonable to be relatively dismissive of the gloomy forecasts.
I doubt that anyone could argue the overarching goodness, unique effectiveness, and historic competence of the citizens of this country. This time, like all others, shall pass and these wounds, like all others, will heal. Make no mistake however, for it will never be the poloticians who bring us together. We, Americans, have always and will forever be the ones who create America.