In Which I Feel Elation

I meant to be in bed now, I really did.

After casting my ballot this morning, I went to great lengths to avoid any election coverage. In my mind, once your ballot is cast, any election coverage is just a waste of time and energy.

So I lounged around feeling wiped out; I had stayed up too late Monday night, dealt with ridiculously noisy neighbors at 5 am, and getting up early to hit the polls. As I write this, I'm still aching, and I need to sleep.

Then, just a short while ago, my mother called to give me the news: Mr John McCain had conceded the election, Mr Barack Obama was our new President-Elect. It was a moment wherein my cynical dread from the last few days evaporated and was replaced with a sense of elation.

It has been, in my opinion, eight long years of stupidity, arrogance of ignorance, vitriol and anguish. Eight years of economic ruin, seven years of a political landscape that seemed to have escaped from the mind of a lunatic, five years of a destructive and disastrous war where many good people met their end in a short, violent and brutal death.

And tonight is catharsis. Tonight is relief. Tonight is joy.

I sit here and am watching Mr Obama give his speech. A person of eloquence, a person of grace, a person of intelligence. A good person. The sort of person that hasn't graced that residence on Pennsylvania Avenue in years. A happiness.

Don't get me wrong, there is still much to be done. An economy to fix. Good women and men to bring home in one piece. An international reputation to reconstruct. It is just the beginning.

But damn, a moment of hope for once. A moment when things are genuinely positive. Where the door has been opened where it was once firmly sealed shut.

Good night from the US. Tomorrow we shall wake up, and we will keep fighting. But for tonight, tonight is joy. Tonight is happiness.

Pointer derefernce: success.