Still on a high

It's the day after Barack Obama has officially become our next president and I'm still on a high from all the excitement. His speech was amazing... absolutely inspiring... it made me feel like everything he's been talking about throughout his campaign is actually possible. Most political speeches either make my skin crawl or put me to sleep. His are electrifying. His energy is electrifying. And I believe a lot of people feel this too, which creates an enormous wildfire effect, unlike anything I've ever witnessed. I've never felt so proud of an elected official as I do of him. I've never felt so optimistic for the future of our country as I do now.

Even though I feel old most days, the number of presidents I have memories of is small- possibly since a good number of them did double duty. I was a baby during the Nixon presidency and was a toddler/ pre-schooler during the Ford presidency so I have no memories of those eras. Being a grade-schooler during the Carter presidency, I was too young to truly appreciate him- I do have memories though of defending him against a classmate, exclaiming, "He is NOT just a peanut farmer!" I have a feeling, had I been older, I would have liked him a lot. Compassion is what I think of when I think of Jimmy Carter. Maybe it's the life he continues to lead after his presidency that I'm judging him on, but I've got to admire anyone who builds houses with Habitat for Humanity in their retirement, when they could spend the rest of their days feeling like "I put in my service to this country already" and get away with it. I like him.

Then came Reagan and Bush... for... way... too... long. They came during my formative years, damn them. Could this explain the root of my anxiety and panic attacks? In a most symbolic way, I remember the inauguration of Ronald Reagan being on in the house while I was doing a science fair project experiment. I swear what I'm about to write is absolutely true... the experiment I was doing was measuring the effect of sun and water on plants. I had one plant that I was preparing on my Mom's plant cart which was right next to the back door in the kitchen which received tons of warm afternoon sun. I planned to water this plant and talk to it, knowing it would do well. The other plant I was preparing to stash away in a cardboard box and put in my parent's closet- the darkest place in the house, away from all the light and nutrients it needed to thrive, let alone survive. I felt bad doing this experiment because I knew I was sacrificing the life of the plant, but it was the assignment and I was a good girl who did her homework. Who could predict that this little plant being shoved in the closet to die would be the poetic symbolism to sum up my view, years later, of the presidencies of Reagan and Bush. Maybe this is why Clinton was a long awaited breath of fresh air to me.

Bill Clinton was the first president in my lifetime that I remember being moved by. I believed everything he said and everything he stood for. Despite his "escapades" (for which most people will remember him by) I believed that his heart was in the right place when it came to politics, and he was ultimately a good person. He was a slick politician, that's for sure, but he didn't make me cringe when he spoke- something I was not familiar with in a president before him. I admired his thoughts and ideals, and was generally happy not to have any old Republicans in office anymore.

Then came the dark years. George Bush Jr. There's no need to say anything about this man other than I was embarrassed to call him my leader. Using the symbolism of the plants from my science experiment, we were back in the closet being deprived of air and light and goodness.

And then came January 20th 2009. The day the clouds lifted and the angels sang. The day unicorns frolicked and rainbows glistened. The day I was proud once more to be an American. Barack Obama has given me hope. Whatever he does in office, it can be no worse than the last eight years we've endured. The other day, Newsday had a quote:

Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King could walk.
Dr. King walked so Barack Obama could run.
Obama ran so we could all fly.

That quote says it all. I feel like we CAN all fly now. My hope is that all of this excitement and energy that the majority of Americans feel right now remains with us. May it be what we can use to create the change we all want... the change we all need. We all are responsible for creating this new life we so desperately desire. Having Barack Obama as our president is the start. He is the leader, but together, we ALL have the wings to fly.