Allow me to dust off my soapbox

I have been SLAMMED lately. Slammed actually doesn't begin to explain how busy I have been. Running on coffee and 2 hours of sleep every night is starting to wear on me but I like to think of it as a warm up for when we have a baby (and we will have one someday!).

I have been writing this entry in my head since the day before the election, but never got the time to sit down and write it out. So here I go...If anything I say offends you, honestly, too bad. Get over it.

I voted for John McCain. I am proud of my vote. In hindsight, I still would have given my vote to McCain. I liked him personally and agreed with most of his platforms (primarily his tax and health care policies). Am I disappointed that he lost, sure, but I think he put up an honest fight and lost with grace, class and dignity.
Why didn't I vote for Obama? Well...really only because I don't agree with his health care or tax policies. That's it. His race played no factor in my decision. His political party affiliation played no part in my decision. His religion. Obviously not. He is a Christian. So am I. I just disagreed with a few of his views. Simple, right? That is what we were supposed to be voting on, the issues, right?

Here is where I have to break out the soap box.

For those of you who voted for Obama based souly on his race- Shame on you. If you voted for Obama only because he was black or if you didn't vote for him for the same reason, you wasted your vote. We are a country that is working towards breaking down walls between races and cultures, yet a lot of headlines on November 5, 2008 read "America's First Black President". While I do think this is an amazing step for our country, race will continue to be an issue here and around the world as long as we make it one. For those who said "This is history.", congrats, you stated the obvious. EVERY elevtion is history in the making. This election is no different. His race makes this election no more important than any other election. Again, as long as this country continues to make race an issue, it will be.

For those of you who think Obama is some insane Muslim terrorist socialist who is going to ruin the United States, GET.A.GRIP. Obama is one man. Rewind to your middle school social studies class, specifically the parts when you discussed American government. When you get down to it, Obama doesn't really hold that much power. No president does. Regardless as to what he wants to do, he still has to get approval from Congress/Senate members. So unless he has ALLLLLL of them in on his big evil plan, he really can't do all that much. If your memory isn't that great, let's go back a few months. Remember when Bush wanted to pass the $700 BILLION government bail out? He may have thought it was the best thing for this country since cable tv, but the House still had to give him the go ahead to sign it into effect. See how that works? It's called Checks and Balances. It prevents any branch or person from becoming too powerful.

For those Liberals who felt the need to tell me that you will "Take my money, take my guns, take my God and MAKE ME CHANGE" (and that is a direct quote). Please. You can take my money. Enjoy the cheeseburger, because that's about all it will buy you. And help yourself to my guns. That supersoaker will come in handy, I'm sure. And PLEASE. Challenge my God. I would LOVE to see that. Really. I could use a laugh. And finally, please make me change. I have a crazy Irish streak a mile wide and it is complete with attitude and stubborness. It would be quite impressive to "make me change". Your candidate won. YAY! I have the confetti and chips, you bring the dip and soda and we will have a party!

And my favorite group. The "Christians" (and yes, I use that term very loosely). Some of you have made me ashamed to group myself even remotely close to you. Aren't we supposed to be the group that accepts EVERYONE and aren't we the group that is not supposed to pass judgement? Isn't that what we are called upon to be like? Correct me if I'm wrong, please. I will eat my words if Obama turns out to be the Anti-Christ, which I HIGHLY doubt. And while I'm on my soapbox, let's be honest. If this is the end, we should be excited. Thrilled. Over the moon. Heaven awaits me on the other side and what I hear is, it is going to be awesome. I have grandparents, friends, great aunts and uncles and our baby waiting on me. Ben has his dad and grandparents and our little one waiting on him. What do we have to be scared of? If this is the end, we will be raptured before it all hits the fan here, so why care? Really? I'm not scared. I know where I'm going when this is all over. Maybe those who passed such harsh judgement on Obama need too look inward and re-evaluate themselves.

And finally. President Elect Obama (I know you read this). You aren't my candidate of choice, but you are soon to be the leader of the country I love. Show me what you can do. Do I expect you to save the world on your first day in office? No. Do I expect you to save our economy and finacial systems within six months? No. But I do expect you to be honest. And work hard to fulfill your promises. You made a lot of things sound really good to a lot of people, so show me what you can do. You have my trust and support and my prayers for guidance until you give me a reason not to let you have them.

In the words of Forrest Gump "And that's all I have to say about that."

"You have to do the best with what God gave you."
Forrest Gump