Who Were You When?

I never got around to posting a blog last November after the general election. You would think that I would have something to say, anything...but frankly, there was just TOO much to say. I was thinking of simply writing "YAHOOO!" and leaving it at that, but even that seemed too trite.

And then, while I was thinking of pithy comments for my blog, everyone seemed to beat me to the punch. Everyone else commented on how this was a historic occasion, that we never thought we'd see the day, that hope had been restored to our country, that the rule of the conservatives was over, etc., etc., etc.

I thought about writing, "Ditto!" but I think someone else wrote that as well.

And then everyone started talking about where they were when they heard the news. People of all races and genders were out in Harlem and Chicago and many other cities braving the cold to rally support for Obama. Some people were asleep at home, and didn't find out the news until the next morning. Some were sitting shiva, some were shouting "Baruch hashem!". It was a wild night by any accounts.

Shirah and I started whooping it up early in the evening when the Vigo County election returns were reported. As many of you may have heard, Vigo County has voted for the winning presidential candidate in every election since 1960, and it has voted closer to the national margin than any other county. So, we didn't need to wait for John Stewart to call the election. We KNEW that we had won. Way to go, Terre Haute, Indiana!

You don't hear THAT very often. (Forgive me, Shirah.)

What I have not heard much discussion on is the following question: WHO were you when you heard the election results? Frankly, this is a much more telling question. Were you a black woman in her mid 70s who never, ever, ever thought she would see this day in her lifetime? Were you a young high school student (of any race or ethnicity) who just couldn't see why Obama's race should have anything to do with his qualifications? Were you a member of the academic elite who saw Obama as a return to reason and intelligence in this country (finally, finally, finally)? Or were you a member of the affluent elite who saw Obama as a threat to your hard saved, hard earned, or more likely, hard inherited dollar?

Were you a staunch ultra-right conservative who saw Obama as the beginning of the end, the fall of morality as we know it? Or were you a staunch ultra-left liberal who saw Obama as the end of the beginning, marking a return to morality in our country?

Who were you?

I welcome your comments, good, bad, or ugly.