For our election night festivities, we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner--where Etta passed on the apps and cheesecake and opted for an Enfamil-filled bottle.
I've watched Etta when we've gone to restaurants and malls. No one gets love of all people more than Etta. She smiles at everyone--and she doesn't care what their race, religion, sexual preference, political party affiliation or whatever is. She just wants to make them smile...and I think there's a lot to learn from that--even if she is just five months old.
But, all joking aside, I was actually bothered tonight with the conclusion of the election...and I'm not referring to the outcome. I'm not referring to Ohio, Virginia, Florida or any state. I'm not referring to the candidates at all. I'm not even referring to the stupid celebrities speaking out in favor or against the reelection of Obama (let it be known that I despise celebrities in general and I especially despise them when they insert themselves into politics so flippantly and wrecklessly). I'm referring to the people in my own neighborhood and communities. I'm referring to the people who damn the whole the world from an election. I find these people a lot more dangerous than any politician.
Do I think that President Obama deserved another shot at fixing our country? No, I don't. Do I think that he will lead our country back to economic stability better than Mitt Romney? I don't know. Did I think Romney has the tools and experience and leadership to bring us back economically? Yes, I did.
And I voted for Romney. I voted for Romney because he spoke of bipartisanship. He spoke of reaching across the aisles and working together, both parties, to accomplish great things. And that's why I voted for him.
Do I support President Obama now that the election is over? Absolutely. 100%. I hope and pray now that he too will use a bipartisanship approach to work and bring our country along to where it needs to be. One man is not the answer. It's a collaborative and cooperative approach that will bring us back, and that's what I hope happens and what I think can happen if pride and egos are set aside from both parties.
Here's why I refuse to accept the reelection of President Obama as such a miserable thing: Because my little girl has a lot of living left to do. She has a lot of potential. She's earned the right to have a dad that is supportive of the country she lives in. And you can say "but Kyle, the national deficit will continue to grow under Obama, etc." To which I say "ok, so what?"
What am I going to do about that now? Guess what? Regardless of who won tonight's election, I am getting up at 5am to make a bottle and change her diaper. Regardless of whether Obama or Romney lead our country, I'm responsible for making sure Etta is safe and warm. Don't take Etta's future away from her by damning the whole world because one man was reelected. You don't have to agree with Obama or the reelection of Obama...there's plenty of things about the last four years that concern me. But they don't concern me enough to start freaking out about Etta's national deficit. Right now, all Etta needs to worry about is her next bottle.
I can't stand the ney-sayers and people who are willing to chalk the next four years up to the worst in our country and to tout that the world is ending. My world just begun. Five months ago. It's not ending. Not in our home.
We'll continue to evolve and adjust to whatever is thrown our way--and we'll continue to support America along the way. Why would I lose faith in America at this point? It's too exhausting. I stood next to Etta's crib tonight and smiled. I didn't care about 16, 20, 25 trillion dollars or whatever the debt is or will be. I just cared that she was breathing. I just cared that she was smiling. I just cared that she was here, in my house and my family.
Tough times may come and if they do, fine, we'll handle it. Yes, there are things that will affect Etta and our family, I recognize that. And those issues are important and I wouldn't begin to mark them irrelevant. But that's ok. I'd be fooling myself if I didn't think we'd ever have to overcome any obstacles at all regardless of who our President was.
I want Etta to live in a country of people that work together to make decisions. Gay or straight, black or white, Republican or Democrat, Christian or Atheist, I want Etta to see people working together. I want her to see gracious losers and dignified winners. I want her to see winners welcome losers and together continue to build a country worth living in--which I still believe we have, Obama or NO-Bama (see what I did there?).
Don't take Etta's future away just because we have a reelected leader.
very well said!!!
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