My thoughts on this historic day

Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.
-Barack Obama, President Elect

I voted for Hilary in the primaries. I was disappointed that Obama did not choose to unify the Democratic party by taking her on as his running mate. I have only partially forgiven him for that. But, I put this aside, and hesitantly passed my support on to Obama. I hope that over the next 4 years I will become increasingly confident with this decision.

That being said, there are a number of reasons I am a happy gal today and immensely proud of our nation and its citizens.

• I am proud that we are another step closer to seeing people without putting an emphasis on the exterior. We have elected our first African-American president. I know I will continue to teach my child (and soon, children!) to see people as people, to look beyond race, age, gender, disability, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation- all those things that separate and divide us when we focus on them and discriminate based on them- and see and appreciate people for who they are inside and their strength of character. I hope that our nation looking beyond the color of someones skin means that there are many more like me, ready to make the commitment to raise their children, our nation's children, in this spirit as well. I hope that we are on our way to teaching our children to appreciate and celebrate our differences, and see them as a strength, not a weakness, of mankind.
  
• I am proud that a Biracial man, raised by his single mother and his grandparents, who was not handed things on a silver platter, who persevered and triumphed, has become President of our great country. Who would have thought this would happen 50, even 20 years ago? We have come a long way and should be proud.
• I am proud that for the first time ever, everyone I voted for won their election! First time! And the first time I have voted for the winning presidential candidate as well! So selfish of me, but exciting. I was getting ready to start voting for the "opposing team"....
• I am proud that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. can smile upon us knowing that his Dream is coming true.
• I am ecstatic that Mark Warner got the Senate seat. A man well-liked and respected by not only his own party but also by many Republicans, shown in his receiving many of their endorsements. I am excited to watch his political career over the next few years. I hope that he is the future of our party, of politics. We need to represent the majority of Americans, the people in the middle. The people that can get things done in Washington because they are capable of stepping over party lines.
  
• I am extremely proud to be a Democrat today. Over the last 8 years, and typically in the State of Virginia, people have treated the word "Democrat" as if it were a bad word, as if we were less patriotic, as if we should feel ashamed of our politics and what we feel is of importance in our lives, in our communities, in our nation. Stand up and be proud fellow Democrats. Today is our day to celebrate and to be proud. Now lets hold our elected politicians to their promises and ensure that we can continue to be proud of our party.

"Unyielding Hope." That's a great way to describe what led me to cast my vote for Obama. Hope. Ideals. Opportunity...for ALL, not just the privileged. I will continue to hope that Obama is able to not only hold fast to his ideals, but to work towards them, to see and recognize the ideals and hopes of ALL Americans and to fight for them, for us, for our great nation. There are no promises or guarantees, only hope.