A New America

In Australia, if you do not vote, you are fined $200. In Tennessee, if you walk into a Krispy Kreme Donuts, Starbucks, or Ben and Jerry's wearing your "I voted" sticker, you get free donuts, coffee, or ice cream. Needless to say, there were some very amped up Tennesseans today, myself included.

I am an American. I love my country and I am grateful for all the opportunities she has given me. As I walked into the voting booth this morning I reflected on what it means to be an American. I considered how growing up in America has shaped my consciousness and whether I have given my country as much as my country has given me. And, of course, I thought of my son and what kind of direction I hope to see this nation move in for him and all other young Americans.

It has been a long, embittered road to this moment of choosing a president. The question begs to be asked whether we can now unite ourselves as a strong compassionate nation after a campaign so deeply entrenched in negativity and anger, no matter who wins. Can we heal the wounds of the last eight years and the kind of leadership that has instilled in us a sense of mistrust in our political leaders? This will be one of our defining moments. Let's hope the answer is, "yes, we can!"

It is my belief that in life there are only two motivating emotions: love and fear; love being compassion based on reason and which springs forth from the better part of all of us; and, fear being panic, not necessarily based in reality. We have seen our nation move in directions we would never have believed we would go had it not been for the extremely successful campaign of fear and deception that our nation has been subjected to by the Bush Administration. We find ourselves in some very challenging situations now but let us not take our responsibility in the matter lightly. We are now finally waking up and realizing the damage that was done while we were in a asleep at the wheel. As evident in this election time, we are now a nation impassioned with possibility. We are a nation emotionally invested like we have not been since the time of the Vietnam War. The most unlikely of characters have been out knocking on doors and working phone banks. It has been the most encouraging display of patriotism I have seen in so long.

However, I am ashamed to say that like so many people I know, during this campaign, I have taken part in hypothetical debates about moving to another country if America looked as though it might continue on in the same direction we have just endured over these past eight years. The rallies of "hate," where words like "kill him," "terrorist," "Muslim," (as if "Muslim" is synonymous with killer), clearly illustrated the kind of leadership that evokes fear and panic has become something I have felt I could no longer stomach. The heinous, terrorizing robo-calls, the letters, "U-S-A" being chanted as if to intimate that one party had the corner on patriotism has made me shudder. That saying, "we are born of love but fear we learn here," seemed truer than ever. The tone of those rallies has made me reflect on what true leadership is and on the words of those who have defined those ideals throughout our history. Leaders and heroes like Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, who have lead by example of what is acceptable and Mahatma Ghandi's words, "Be the change you want to see in the world," so beautifully illustrated in his own fast for peace the kind of human act associated with change made people expand their definitions of what was possible. Leaders like Martin Luther King empowered us by speaking of the divinity in all of us when saying, "Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality."

As the election results roll in, we are being asked to put aside the venom and reunite as a country in full. I am reminded of the night of Martin Luther King's assassination. Robert Kennedy was campaigning for the presidency. It was April 4, 1968 and Kennedy was expected to speak to a rally in Indianapolis. Instead of canceling amidst high tensions, he spoke briefly, saying, "...In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of nation we are and what direction we want to move in....We have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond these rather difficult times." He later went on to say, "What we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice for those who still suffer within our country."

It is my deepest belief that greatness exists in all of us and that true leadership is based on the ability of challenging the best parts of our nature, which is why Barack Obama has had such a mighty impact on us all. His words have not been delivered with a tone of sarcasm or condescension but instead with strength. His words of "hope" packed a powerful punch...so powerful that early on he was written off as, God forbid, "eloquent." I believe we deserve a leader who will speak to us of higher ideals and who will inspire us to move forward as one nation. I cling to the idea of hope. I rejoice in its possibility. It is what America was founded on and it is why, no matter what happens, I will stand by her side and fight for all that she promises.

John McCain is a great man. There should never be a debate challenging that notion. He is an American hero and will be remembered as someone who has served this country selflessly. I believe he is also, at the core, a good man, who quite possibly became panicked, when his numbers dropped, into running the kind of campaign he vowed he would never run in 2004. I don't believe history will judge him less than the hero he is. Perhaps, there will be lessons to be learned from this campaign that will shape the future of the run for the presidency. We'll see.

In the end, our greatest decision-making does not come from fear propagating panic and uncertainty. It comes from the soundness of compassion. If it is anger and fear that resonates in the spirit when making decisions, one must take a step back and listen to the heart for the heart knows the truth if the ego can quiet itself long enough to listen.

As we watch the 70,000 euphoric Obama supporters in Grant Park in Chicago waiting for the appearance of our future president, our first black president, but more importantly, our deeply inspired and conscious leader, it is my hope that we will heed his call to find forgiveness, acceptance, and compassion for each other and that we will bless this nation and ourselves by putting the divisiveness that has been nurtured throughout this campaign and the past eight years to once again become a nation of one people under God indivisible. Time to celebrate America at her very best.

Read more reactions from HuffPost bloggers to Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 presidential election

Comments

[killmenow]

Sheryl Crow was recently on Larry King Live along with Dean Cain, who was sadly and mistakenly supporting McCain for President, although he could barely if at all articulate why.

Sheryl said something sort of obvious, yet it sent a chill down my spine. I've repeated it many times to many people:

Sheryl Crow said of Sarah Palin:
"I think the most dangerous thing about her is that she doesn't -- she doesn't seem to know what she doesn't know."

It's a simple yet so searingly true statement as above that demonstrates why a songwriter like Sheryl Crow has achieved such consistent success in expressing herself, whether through music or just speaking to all of us.

[bumpersticker]

As the Obama's choose a dog, I see analogy that we are the mutts who have had been rescued from the Michael Vick dog-fight agenda of Bush, Cheney, Hannity, Rush et-all.

I'm sure I can turn on Rush or Hannity tomorrow and listen to them still poking their sticks, putting people in cages and trying to keep their listeners mad dogs, spoiling for a fight, but something has changed, as if we're freed to run across open fields again.

Taking the podium from Bush feels like taking the stick from Vick..

[killmenow]

That's pretty good, bumpersticker! The right-wing pundits "poking their sticks" and keeping their listeners "mad dogs" is exactly what they're doing. All of us need to consistently point that out. I'm very tired of the mainstream media simply assuming that those pundits do what they do and that's that. It's actually outrageous, and there needs to be a concerted effort to point out to those listeners that they should all be viligent against being lied to and manipulated. No one should be so proud and happy to be completely gullible.

[Calamagrostis]

The fight is just beginning. Obama will of course be much better than Bush, but seeing him at his first press conference standing between the war hawks Biden and Emanuel was disturbing. Obama's platform calls for increased military spending, almost 100,000 new troops, more troops in Afghanistan, and a "residual" force of 50,000 troops left in Iraq. We need to act now to rescue Obama from the rightwing Democrats and break the militancy that has gripped America for decades under both Republicans and Democrats.

[killmenow]

Calm down. Give him a chance.

[Calamagrostis]

No, Obama says that he is not the change, that we have to work to create the change. So I am not going to sit back and wait for the Democrats to compromise their way toward the political right. I am going to act now to force them to do what needs to be done.

[JiminNC]

Oops .. Sheryl (spelling) - my sister spells in "Cheryl"

[JiminNC]

Cheryl, The depth of the damage done by the bush regime will never be realized because they are still at it to the bitter end and beyond. Bushco is poisoning the waters abroad by expanding his "Holy War" and has kneecapped the Obama administration with his final looting of the treasury. Watch how they do it ... and expect the same treatment that Jimmy Carter received, domestic inflation and recession caused by manipulation of credit and commodity markets (eg man-made energy/oil crisis of the early seventies) ... destabilizing Obama's foreign policy by undermining the duly elected government of the United States through clandestine relationships (eg Iran-Contra-Hostages.) The difference (I hope) will be Obama's astute knowledge of history and direct, harsh intervention in these corporate activities. The neo-republicans have set the table for the sequel and remember that GHW Bush had his finger in the pie back then as well. They aren't gone but rather submerged.

[janmarina]

I was raised in a small town in the north by parents who were color blind.The N-word was considered to my folks as being just as disgraceful as the f-word.Quite frankly I think the world needed to see us shed a light of a different color.But if we are as "newly" evolved as we claim to be,why are we making such a big deal over the fact that the man is "black"?Why isn't there more focus on the rest of him?

[katocat]

Thank you for all you do Sheryl and for speaking out.

You make a difference with your words and music.

[cylindar]

I don't know about forgiving George Bush. Hmmm I will have to go into therapy for that one.

[kells1001]

Today we have the opportunity to look forward once again. As Sheryl alludes to so many people have felt the pain and seen the affects of failed policies we didn't agree with. I'm not sure what the future holds, but I feel that new ideas and policies can be seen on the Horizon. The wall seems to have come down for a time and issues and problems that seem to have no solutions can be addressed once more. For many African American's Barack Obama's Presidency represents an even greater accomplishment and the words of Martin Luther King " I have a Dream" speech can be heard once again.

[taeloanita]

I am so amazed that all of you think that you've won, especially those of you who embrace civil rights. Last night, thousands of gay and lesbian Californians lost their civil rights and a huge part of themselves, their right to love and marry. How this is a civil rights victory, I have yet to understand. The aspect of this first black president rally that really upsets me is this: As a white woman, I have always tried to be understanding of blacks and their struggles with discrimination and rushed to their rescuse if someone spoke ill of them based on their skin color. For years, I stood by them and I fought for their civil rights. And last night, when I needed them to reciprocate that and stand by me and my gay brothers and sisters, they did not. So I am so sorry I don't share in all of the Obama joy. As a matter of fact, I feel as if, last night, Californians legalized homophobia. And for that, I am so sad.

[Olampean]

I'm neither black nor gay, but I deeply believe in the civil rights of blacks, gays, and everyone else who has been the victim of discrimination and oppression.

It is highly regrettable that the gains made by our nation yesterday in bringing about the Obama-Biden victory were not also accompanied at the same time by victory for the rights of gays and lesbians.

I hope that those of you who feel left out of yesterday's victory (and I can understand your disappointment) can come to see the Obama-Biden victory as a great thing for America and as a huge first step in overcoming discrimination and oppression in all forms. Yesterday's victory ends nothing, but rather opens the door for every kind of civil human rights to come about. You are not alone.

[utleftie]

How does the election of two men who DON'T believe in equal rights for all amerikans open doors?

[Bladernr1001]

You do not have a "right" to compel me to accept your life style.

You other have all other rights to be with who you desire. You DO have the right to love them.

The CA vote was not about homophobia. It was a repudation of the idea that in order for the general population not to be considered homophobic we have to approve of the life style. No one has to approve of anyones choices in life....but we are still free to persue them. No one is making you ride at the back of the bus or use separate bathrooms.

There are lots of behaviors I do not approve of and I am sure that I do things that others do not apporve of too. But we do not go around trying to cram our views down each other's throat.

[lovingkindness]

Your thesis does not hold up. The CA proposition was to remove an existing right, not to cram one down your throat.

How would you react if legal "behaviors" which you take part in, even if disagreable to me, were outlawed?

[aBr1t]

That is petty... for one reason

Being gay is not the same, sure ok i understand about the rights.. but lets put this into some prespective here

did any gay person "persons" for the past 400 years + get taken from there land? thrown off a ship
treated like a comodity????

Try to understand the effects of a black president is a World thing not just a civil rights thing..

There will always be injustice in the world and yes us "blacks" have knocked down a wall and im sure in time the "gay" commuinty will do the same in the state of calli but dont pit like "us against them" its petty...

[gen-x]

Plus the blacks voted 70% against you, sorry to rub it in.

[spicehandler]

I am sorry that Prop 8 passed in California and that it took away your right (for now) to legally marry but it DID NOT take away your right to LOVE.

[utleftie]

Yeah, the possibilities for you straight folks are endless...

[csavage]

I'm 45 years old and have voted for several winning presidents, including Reagan, Bush 41, and Clinton.
I got home last night from my district committee meeting (Boy Scouts) just in time to hear Charlie Gibson announce the figures from the West Coast and declare Obama the winner. My 9 y/o son was busy monitoring the election as part of a school work assignment. He looked up and said "We won" and I started to cry-for the first time in an election.
We have won-we as Americans...
It's time to reclaim our light, shine it up and display it proudly to the rest of the world....

[imememine]

Absolutely a "New America". Every young American will have a refreshed view of what we can accomplish together as one nation. As they helped to elect the new pres, they will feel ownership and pride in the new administration.

Once again we can become a country of dreamers and hope, which historically is when we are at our best. New economies will erupt as the result of new ideas that are built on dreams and hope.

We have dismantled the wall of fear brought to us by the crusted, selfish administration of the past 8 years.

[aBr1t]

As i sit here typing if not one of my last comments on the huffington

I can honestley say Im Proud of you all "all those whos said" YES WE CAN

i have never in my life felt this way befor in all my 27 years i have never
Cried tears of joy in the humanity of people to change HISTORY why?
becouse im half black half white and im not from the usa but to me after reading
all about the slaves and peoples struggle i reflect on my own life my struggles
and i can say from my heart I HAVE HOPE in humanity right now... silly yes maybe

but my tears are very real and the emotions im feeling are more strong than i could have
ever thought

God bless the great people of this nation for giving the world HOPE saying to everyone who
struggles in life, there is always a better tomorrow and most important ...

YES WE CAN

[aBr1t]

Sam Cooke - I was born by the river

and to cherly, iv always liked you and what you stand for, i didnt put it in my first comment


just listen to this song everyong - cry tears of joy you have uplifted not only the usa
But the world be proud my fellow people be proud

Free at last, maybe not, Free to dream again ? YES YES YES YES

/me cries again :'(

[TheMediaRanger]

You have to be astounded at the number and the cross-section of people who did what they can, gave what they could, to help make this day possible. Thank you, Sheryl, for your part.