This is our first presidential election since moving to Abu Dhabi and although they always make me feel incredibly patriotic, being over here makes me appreciate our great nation even more.
The embassy here made it incredibly easy for us to vote here. They had a voter day where we could get the forms we needed to request an absentee ballot and once it arrived, they let us drop if off there so we didn't have to pay for international mailing charges.
Regan's class did a Kids Vote experience and she was able to research the candidates on her own and learn a bit more about elections in the uS. She cracked me up when she asked what you are supposed to do when you agree with one candidate on some issues and the other candidate on other issues. Welcome to democracy, Regan! We had some interesting discussions on how you might make trade-offs and prioritize issues - things we have to do every election.
On election day, instead of staying up late for the results, we wake early the day after and dash to the computer. The election was still up in the air as of 6:00 a.m. this morning so I kept checking in as I go about my regular morning activities. I drove Jake crazy with my constant "updating" him so I had to zip it so he could follow it on his own and he was glad to get out of the house and my inability to keep from blurting out the newest 1% reporting from Florida every five minutes or so. The Embassy sponsored an election watching breakfast this morning but as it took place right in the middle of the school run, it wasn't possible to make it.
I stepped into a cafe this morning to check on the results and the BBC had just called Obama as the winner. There were two workers in the cafe taking pictures of the TV. One was from the Philippines and the other from Bangladesh. Although both democracies, they can't compare to the kind of freedom and elections that our country has and I wondered what was going through their minds as they watch the world riveted by the US people's voting.
I came home to listen to Obama's victory speech and was touched by his comments about how we are an American family and we rise and fall together. I found seeing his fans celebrate all over the US and even in his ancestral home in Kenya uplifting. I listened to Romney's so very gracious concession speech and am thankful for an honest election system that is so trusted it has the final word. I like how he said that the election is over but our principles endure.
Happy (day after) election day - a day where I am certainly proud to be an American regardless of who the winner is!
No comments:
Post a Comment