Two choices

I have had to really struggle with all the feelings that have come with a McCain defeat and an Obama win. I've made very clear in previous postings how I feel about Obama. I don't trust him. I don't believe him. I don't agree with any of his policies. I fear what his administration will do to my country. But he won. He will be the president. I don't want to turn into a bitter political participant like we saw for the last 8 years among the Bush-haters. When I think of the things that were said and done against President Bush it turns my stomach. Bush wasn't a great president, but no one deserves to be treated in such a hateful manner and those who participated in such "off the wall" behavior should be ashamed of themselves. But today I understand the deep feelings of disappointment. I understand the deep feelings of anger. I understand how easily it is to slip into becoming bitter. So I have a choice. Do I now become an Obama-hater, spewing disrespectful hate filled words at him and those who support him or do I become a pro-active person who determines how I can positiviely participate in the system to fight for what I believe is right for this country? I decided to choose the later path.

What enabled me to make this choice were two blogs. The first blog is written by a woman who is a recovering alcoholic and a McCain supporter. Her blog posting focused on what she was grateful for, one of which was the bible verse, "Let not your heart be troubled..." That calmed me considerably. The second blog is written by a former Hillary supporter who crossed party lines and voted for McCain. She is a member of PUMA and actively campaigned for McCain in several different states. Her blog posting was absolutely classy. Even though she had personally been "roughed up" by Obama supporters during the campaign, she was able to take the high road, talking about unifying as a country, focusing our disappointment in a positive direction, and holding accountable the new administration.