Sackcloth and ashes

So many people have been asking about the status of my mental and emotional health after the election, that even though I was not going to comment on it, I feel I owe it to all the people concerned about me.

No, I'm not distraught that Obama won.

1) It is historic that we have finally elected a president who is not an old white man. Its about time. I have to admit though, I did not think it would happen. I overestimated the prejudice in this country.

2) Obama supports family life. On that, he and I agree. In his book, Audacity of Hope, he talks about the effects that a political office has on his family. Yes, I read it, and God did not strike me down. Living in Washington DC and visiting his wife and kids in Chicago on the weekend took its toll. He talks about calling to hear his daughters' voices only an hour after hanging up with them. When his daughters walked out on the stage with him Tuesday night, it was quite obvious how highly he values the family unit. Even in his greatest moment, it seemed obvious that his first thought was, "My family is sharing this moment with me!"

3) All life is cyclical, and all matter is cyclical. Planets and comets orbit the sun, eventually returning to where they were before. God (or the author of Genesis) started the weekly cycle by placing creation at "six days and the seventh for rest" before the cycle starts over again. The temperature of the sun flares up and dies down every few years or so, resulting in global temperature changes on every planet. (This is not to imply that greenhouse gasses do not exacerbate the effects.) Even the human body is cyclical. Without the presence of light, the body will still rely on circadian rhythm, an internal clock telling us when to wake up every day and when to feel hungry and when to go to sleep. Therefore, why should politics be any different? Keep a Republican or Democrat in the White House for too long and the balance of our government will be thrown off. We will cease to be a free country. We will become a single-party state, with no freedoms.

4) This is not to say that I am without concern for the state of our country. It concerns me that Obama supports many things that I do not. As a leader, he will sway the sheep** who do not have the sense to do their own research, but instead follow blindly. He will lead people further away from any kind of morality whatsoever. This is not about religion, you can have a set of morals without God. But this is about taking a stand for something. Too many people will not.

5) It concerns me that people have referred to Obama as their "redeemer." Yes, it is just a word. But he is just a man.

There's more, but five is a good number. And yes I have concerns, but I am not distraught. Obama and I may not see eye-to-eye, but its ok. He's young, and a work in progress. Come to think of it, so am I. Thank you all for worrying about me. I, in turn, will worry about you, just in case Obama fails at the things he promised you.

**Edit: Apparently, this comment is not clear to some of my readers. By sheep I am referring not to Democrats or Republicans but to those people who are undecided and who will follow the president as long as the president is charismatic, good looking, and young. He is all of these things, and people will follow him because of that, not because they actually believe in what he believes in.