Heard 'round the world

So everyone's talking about the election and our president-elect, and for good reason. the wave of intense emotional uprising, the swelling of spirits, can be felt all the way across the ocean and over to me even here in Japan.

What strikes me most about this "historic election" isn't the obvious first African-American president, though it is a milestone of note. Black alone does not a great president make. obviously there are going to be more hurdles for this new president to overcome, more than most people taking office. and that "historic" significance will surely be an added weight on his shoulders.

What really gets to me though is that for the first time in my life, I see people EXCITED about their chosen leader. People who didn't feel like they were checking a box for the less of two evils, but who really took joy in saying "Yes, this is the man we WANT," rather than "this is the one we can stand". Voting turnout hasn't been higher since the 1960's, if the numbers I've seen are to be believed. People came out in droves to do their part, and it shows. For once, people WANTED to vote, because they WANT TO BELIEVE.

I remember voting in the Bush/Gore election, and even when I'd heard Gore had won (despite the later turn-abouts we're all far too familiar with), the feeling was one of relief rather than joy. But even me, sitting at my computer desk in my Japanese Jr. High school staff room, stood up, raised my arms in the air and cheered when Obama hit that magic 270. I announced to the staff room in Japanese "Obama's won! Obama is the next president!" Even my Japanese co-workers, who usually look at me funny when I try to share news from home, smiled and shared a little of the celebratory air with me. The students came in shortly after for cleaning time and asked me if it was true, they'd heard from the teachers that I'd said it to them. I told them it was true, and even they seemed happy. Thirteen year old Japanese kids who don't probably have any concept of American politics, and wouldn't care to if I asked them. The infectious nature of this happiness is another one of the wonderful effects this election has had.

In time, the ecstasy will fade, and the taxing work of fixing a very broken nation will wear on both our president and its citizens. But it's nice to see that people's spirits actually CAN be lifted from the normal, indifferent rubble of every day life.

When they say "we did it", that's what we truly did.