Yours? Mine? Ours!

I find myself in an odd place in the world today. Everyone I have talked to is so excited about the inauguration of our new President, Barack Obama. I've been invited to parties to watch the event, parties to celebrate the event, and I've gotten multiple emails and Facebook messages expressing excitement over this momentous day. One of those messages asked how excited I was about today. My response of, "Oh, you mean the inauguration? I've been working and didn't really give it a thought," elicited shock and awe. How could I not be following the live coverage with bated breath? How could I not be overcome with excitement over what was happening..?

I have not been caught up in the moment like it seems everyone else has. Truth be told, I don't really get into politics. Granted, this was the first election that I actually got excited about, mainly due to the fact that Hillary Clinton was running for President. Once she did not receive the party nomination, I lost interest. It saddened me, because I was finally interested in politics -- something I have historically not ever done -- and following the debates and media coverage. But once she got out of the race, my interest waned. Eventually my interest fell to nil, and I stopped following the race altogether.

It seems that everyone I know thinks that I should be somersaulting with excitement because of the election of Barack Obama. I am excited, as it means the end of the "W" era and a chance to have a Democrat in the White House again. But it should be understood that he was not my candidate. Yes, I voted for him. But he was not my candidate, not my first choice. I voted for him because I wanted a Democrat in office. Do I think he will do a good job? Yes. Do I think that this is a momentous occasion, having a black man elected to President of the United States? Yes. Should I jump up and down, and clap, and brim over with excitement, treating this as better than any other inauguration day? For me, no.

I am proud of the fact that we have elected a black man as President. I am in awe that we, as a country, chose someone who, in reality, most thought was against all odds of being elected. I am thrilled that this huge step will hopefully open doors to other civil rights issues and struggles that are going on here and abroad. That is what we should be focusing on.

It should not matter if the Presidential choice was yours, mine, our ours. It should matter that we have elected the better candidate, that we have elected the man who will, hopefully, bring about positive change, and that we have elected an idea that no matter who you are and what your struggle, there is a day out there for you. When that day comes is something that we all have decide. We have to work together to make sure that every person has their dream fulfilled -- with dignity, with respect, with acceptance. We have to work to make sure that we can all say, "This is my country. This is my world. I belong."