Tuesday’s Presidential election was the ninth of my life. I am 51 years old ~ and a loyal Democrat ~ and I have never been so committed to our Democratic candidate ~ nor have I have ever witnessed the reaction of our country to a Presidential election. It wasn’t just Grant Park. It was everywhere. As (our next Senator from Georgia) Jim Martin says in his great new ad, America is back.
Remember Max Cleland; thank our great candidate Jim Martin and donate HERE and NOW.
America is back everywhere.
Never in my 51 years -- not even during the fun days of the Bicentennial -- have I seen the outpouring of joy and celebration of our country like I saw during the early morning hours of November 5, 2008. There have been diaries here about spontaneous outbreaks of the singing of our National Anthem in Washington, D.C. and Portland, Oregon. Thanks, DemocraticLuntz and skywaker9.
Were the spontaneous outbreaks of the Star Spangled Banner in Washington, D.C. and Portland, Oregon aberrations? Not by a long shot. After the announcement of the election of President-Elect Barack Obama at 11 p.m. on Tuesday night, singing broke out across America.
I don’t equate the spontaneous singing of the Star Spangled Banner with patriotism. Our patriotism -- here -- is demonstrated by our commitment (through donations, canvassing, phonebanking and supporting our great candidates) to making our country better. But what I do equate the spontaneous singing with is joy. Joy in being an American. Joy in reclaiming our country. Pride in being an American.
None of us has ever not been proud to be an American. But it has been tough, over the course of the past eight years, to hold our heads up, with the leadership America has had. No longer.
At 11 p.m. on November 4, 2008, we reclaimed our pride. And the singing began.
Portland, Oregon:
Washington, D.C.:
New York City:
Harvard Square, Boston, Massachusetts (they brought a band!):
University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington:
Berkeley, California:
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington:
Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois:
Jeepers! German television!
Congratulations, President-Elect Barack Obama! Thank you for bringing the joy back to being an American.
And because we won North Carolina today, too ~ Woo-hoo!
Welcome, North Carolina, to blue statehood! We here in Blue Virginia (WOW!) are so glad to have you with us!