- submitted by M. Smith on 11/06/2008
The Post-Election Headache: Take Two Tylenol and Some Tolerance
By Melissa Smith
The day after the election was supposed to be one of relief. I was more than ready for the negative campaigning to end and the dissentious aspects of the election to be over. I had hoped that the strong opinions and arrogant attitudes that seemed to be so prevalent in my town and all throughout the country would moderate.
And while I did awake to amazing scenes that should inspire hope and will certainly be unforgettable moments of history being written, I also encountered anger and fear and a continuing supply of negative and misleading propaganda. I fear my hopes for some post election moderation were extremely naïve.
The day after the election the newspaper headlines proclaimed the significance of the historical election of a black man to the presidency of the United States. My television repeatedly showed scenes of black reporters, reporting from black communities, interviewing crying black people. Aged civil rights leaders praised those brave souls who laid the groundwork for this moment, often with their lives. Yet on a Google discussion forum there was talk of how soon President Obama would be assassinated. If race wasn't supposed to be an issue before the election, I wonder why it is so important the day after the election.
When I walked my son to school, the other suburban mommies were shaking their heads in worry and disgust. "He's going to raise my taxes. He's going to take away all that we have worked for. His ideas on capital gains are going to kill us. This country is going down."
Yet on the radio there was an interview with a man visiting the food bank. He didn't mention income levels or the fine print on small business taxation or the ramifications of Obama's plans for Iraq. He mentioned hope. "I just want to have a job and be able to feed my family.....that's what I hope for."
The people of the world cheered when Obama was elected. A newspaper report proclaimed that their overriding desire was that America would be "less arrogant," less selfish and adopt a more worldly view. Obama reached out to the world in his speech offering the support of America and confirming that "...our destiny is shared."
Yet my grocery store checker was visibly upset. Practically in tears, she proclaimed that, "Now that a Muslim has taken over our country he will open the door to the terrorists. We should just bomb the whole Middle East.....once and for all...and get rid of those evil people who threaten our Christianity and our American way of life."
I realize that the emotional ramifications of this election are still fresh and right at the surface. But I sense that this opinionated divide seems to be widening not moderating.
President Obama will encounter his hopeful supporters who have almost unrealistic, wide reaching expectations for him. They have placed an inordinate amount of pressure on one man to unite not only our country but the entire world in some magical way.
Obama must also deal with the opposition who have already pre-determined that his election is alarming and frightening . He must deal with people who appear absolutely unwilling to employ even a preliminary cautionary observation of his presidency. I am standing somewhere in the middle. And I am very lonely.
In his gracious concession speech, John McCain urged all Americans to "find ways to come together, to find the necessary compromises, to bridge our differences... " Even contentious Republican Elizabeth Hasselbeck of The View commented that "today is victory for this country to have Barack Obama as our next president." Now if John McCain and Elizabeth Hasselbeck can move a little bit toward the middle then anyone can.
I'd sure like to think that President Obama really does have the unifying qualities his supporters profess. I'd sure like to think that the extreme thinking, the negativity and the divisive attitudes I still see will soon be replaced by a true desire to relate to each other in a more positive way.
I'd sure like to think that my suburban neighbors and all of America will be a bit more tolerant and a bit more willing to listen to John McCain and "bridge our differences." Perhaps that kind of America is coming. But on this day after the election, I have yet to see enough of it to give me hope.
Melissa Smith is a continuously amused, always questioning, closet rebel living in materialistic, soccer mom suburbia. Her work can be seen at http://www.slightlyexaggerated.com/...read more rants
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