Final thoughts on the Election, or I'm done talking about politics for a while now.

Like millions of Americans I voted yesterday. Given the long, drawn out election and everything that goes with it I'll jump in with the other internet talking heads and contribute my two cents. I voted for Obama and I'm glad he won. A few thoughts on the election, reactions to it, and observations on people my age.

The election process in this country is way more complicated and drawn out than it needs to be. I understand that we are a huge country and covering that much territory takes time. But how significantly did the candidates positions on the issues change during the course of the election? Since the actual election is always in November, the economic crisis would have still hit if the thing were shorter and the outcome would probably be the same.

Nevertheless, last night was an historic moment in American history. It will be one of those times where you recall where you were when they announced that Obama had won. I, unfortunately, was taking the dog out to pee. Seeing and hearing the pundits talk about the significance of electing an African-American president was really interesting. I believe it was Chris Matthews who made an interesting point about the correlation between race and age. To paraphrase, he said that this election result affected the psyche of people over the age of 45. For those younger folks, especially under 30, they tended to view Obama as just another guy and not as a "black" guy. I had never thought of it that way since I'm under 30 and just thought of Obama as another guy. Go figure.

One of my best friends updated his Facebook status to read: "Dear McCain voter under 30: You're an idiot." To a certain extent I understand that sentiment. Of course my brother is under 30 and I'm sure he voted for McCain, assuming he voted. But I also understand why he would. Plus, my brother is a rational person and doesn't fall back on ridiculous comments about socialism and heathenism. It seems to me that a lot of young McCain voters simply voted the same way their parents traditionally did, i.e. they come from upper/upper middle class families. The real failure, it seems to me, is their inability to actually examine the issues and each candidate's position on them and really wrestle with what their respective impacts would be. For me the big issues were education, health care, and the environment. Leaving the public schools in the hands of a "free market" is about the asinine idea ever and would only worsen districts that are already hurting.

The McCain health care plan, well, it was a joke. McCain kept saying that people shouldn't have a bureaucrat deciding their medical treatment. Even if boiled down to such a simple relationship, which, if you know anything about other national health services, does not happen, the real question to be asked is this: Would you rather have someone tell you that you CAN have a necessary procedure, even if you have to wait a few months (because it's not an emergency), OR would you rather have someone tell you that either a.) you can't have the procedure at all, or b.) you can have the procedure but it will cost you your house, life savings, kids' college funds, etc. That seems like a no brainer. Detractors call Obama a socialist. Not only is this incorrect, it shows a vast misunderstanding of what socialism is. When I was in Europe this summer I was talking to a guy about American politics, and he laughed at the idea that Obama was a socialist. In Europe, he would be considered conservative, undoubtedly. Americans use the term socialism interchangeably with communism in order to provoke fear and condemn what they don't understand. It's really sad. It's even more sad that a lot of people my age, college educated people, make these same accusations without examining what they really mean.

People are certainly entitled to their opinions, and like my Dad says, as long as they're informed opinions I have no problem debating with them. But those folks that just talk out of their ass and use fear and lack of reason (on either end of the political spectrum) to make their point aren't making a point at all. I had no problem talking politics with McCain supporters during this election, My brother and my cousin both supported McCain and we were able to have intelligent, rational conversations without turning to sniping and petty bullshit. That's the way it should be. There are too many people that latch on to one small thing, usually incorrect, and ride it with a virulence that is both ignorant and disheartening. Perhaps my lack of political conviction colors my opinion. I'm a moderate. I've voted in three presidential elections and never voted for the same party more than once (I voted for Nader in 2000). While hindsight is always 20/20 and looking back I don't always agree with my decisions, a big part of that was what was happening at the time, how it affected me, and my education of the issues. This time I feel like I was on the ball and suitably informed. It looks like American politics might experience a paradigm shift with this election, and personally, I think that's a good thing. If we move to a more European socio-economic model, I think that's alright, so long as we retain the aspects that keep us distinctly American. I have no doubt this would happen. So put away the vitriol and let's see what happens before making these stupid, uninformed, often times racist, comments. America may have taken a huge step forward by electing Obama president, but it still has a long way to go.