8 posts tagged “obamarama”
I know there was a grieving process I went through when Bush was re-elected in 2004 (1. Strangled Hope 2. Virulent anger 3. Copious tears 4. Cookies 5. Rum). I also know that I've spent so much time both being certain about Obama and being terrified that he would never win that I built up shields that would protect me from having to grieve like that again -- knowing it would all the more potent because I actually believed in my candidate this year.
So, I find myself with the opposite problem -- the five stages of the rejoicing process. Especially since these are really difficult times in our country, and because I didn't hate the opponent (I think I kept my promise to not denigrate Sen. McCain on this blog, except for those two really hilarious pictures that needed captioning -- the brain-fart and the claws -- and i never promised not to make fun of Palin). If anything, this election has made me more open for moderation and more interested in reaching across the aisle -- part of why I think Obama won so resoundingly is because he didn't get up there and mount a campaign based entirely on "REPUBLICANS! BOOGAH BOOGAH!" Sure, he did invoke the name of Bush and worked hard to draw parallels to McCain, but that was more along the lines of, "That administration was a royal cock-up, and he was in agreement with those morons most of the time, so... you know, think about that."
So - keeping in mind my attempt to break my addiction to partisanship and the fact that the nation is not doing very well, what is my process of rejoicing? Here are the steps so far:
1. Orgiastic drunken stomping joy stage: happened at about 10:30pm last night, went on until 2am. Lots of screaming and joy and hugging and sitting on the floor with my three best friends, hugging them as we watched the speeches, consumption of champagne, dancing, getting more hugs from everyone else at our party. Finally collapsing into bed
2. Hungover Productivity Stage - Involves going to work hungover, drinking lots of water, and then squeeing with my boss after she sorta hints to find out if I'm as stoked as she is. I also had a really productive day at work. Go figure.
3. Utter disbelief Stage: Return home, tired from getting less than five hours of sleep, ask roommates every ten minutes if this is real or am I dreaming (crush me with the things you do...). Pinching myself every few minutes just to make sure.
So that's where I am so far. Interestingly enough, I think the last two stages for grief and joy are the same. To the cookies and rum!
Four years ago, I cried with despair. Tonight, I can't stop laughing with happiness. Also, we have partied.
Years from now, I will be able to tell my nieces and nephews -- Yes, we did.
Bam! I've voted the SHIT out of this election! Boo-yah! It wasn't that long a wait -- they'd expedited things by giving people clipboards on top of having booths available. So I voted seated on the floor of a community center gymnasium. Then we got free coffee from Starbucks. I have a feeling everything's gonna be all right.
We're having an election party tonight, so as to celebrate or drink ourselves into sad oblivion. But I have a feeling right now that it will be a celebration...
I got the best postcard ever from the Starlet, who is on the British Isles right now, wandering about. He got it from a gay bar in Edinburgh, and told me a story about using a ladies restroom. How I miss him.
My last days of classes are this week, and my final papers are due Monday, so I imagine I will be a little sparse this week. I keep procrastinating, naturally, but soon it'll be all papers, all the time, instead of "work on a paper, stop, peruse the internet, work on a paper, stop, eat lunch, read for a while, then realize I have to go to work."
Ooh, that reminds me. Yesterday I worked a long shift, and on my break I wandered over to Borders. I saw a book there called "The Obama Nation - Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality." But... I'm more than a little sure that Jon Stewart coined the phrase "ObamaNation" a year or two ago. So, way to crib from The Daily Show, right-wing dude who wrote a book. What's next, a book titled "Truthiness?" Heh. The very best part of this was that it shared a table with the promotional material for Breaking Dawn. So, you know, at least it was with the rest of the fiction.
Cult of personality, my ass. It's like they forgot the years of "DON'T CRITICIZE BUSH BECAUSE WE ARE AT WAR!" Remember? When it was unpatriotic to criticize the president? I sure do. I got told to "leave America" by a roommate when I said that I understood why Europeans didn't like our president. Ironically, we were not IN America at the time she said this, and it didn't make her any less angry with me when I pointed this out. It does make a great story years later. I ran into another roommate from Athens at a wedding, and she was like, "I tell everyone about the time when she said, 'If that's how you feel, get the fuck out of America!' and you said, 'But... um, we're in Greece?'"
I'm something of a jerk.
OK, I said I wouldn't talk about my niece again, but I have to say it. I saw the people magazine with Brangelina's twins on the cover and, you know what? Not impressed. Compared to Little Miss Sunshine, those babies are total uggos. Nice try, Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
Here's the deal.
I don't plan on voting for John McCain, but that doesn't mean I think he's the devil. Quite the opposite -- eight years ago, when I actually WAS young and naive, I would have voted for him. Seriously -- I thought he was like "Republican Light." I didn't know much about politics then -- I know more now. Now, he's demonstrated that he would support policies that I don't support (overturning roe v wade, action against iran, staying in iraq), I don't want to give him my vote. Same as four years ago, I would be voting for whoever was ideologically opposed to the incumbant party. I would be voting democrat no matter what.
That in mind, I refuse to be "negative" this campaign. I may get angry when the GOP invates the STP for their conference in September, but I promise to avoid unnecessary negativity re: John McCain. Because again, I won't vote for him, but he's not the devil. I will avoid reading blatantly negative and one-sided things about him. I will only concentrate on why I want to vote FOR someone, not AGAINST someone else.
And I suggest you do the same, my fellow Americans. And if the answer isn't Obama or McCain for you, find your third party candidate. Let's just be a democracy here.
I, for one, am voting FOR Obama because he his pro-choice, because he wants to develop a plan to get us out of Iraq, because he believes in National Service and so do I. Because he says he wants to work across the aisle, and stop the bipartisan insanity that has been our nation since before I was born.
Does this mean he will do all these things? I don't know, but I trust he can and I hope he will so he has my vote.
Now, these rules won't apply to Project Runway. I plan to be fucking VIRULENT about those who I hate on the new season. When it begins. In twelve days.
Seriously, the fist bump? As a gang symbol? In that case, all the white, semi-rural, private-school kids I taught last year are in gangs, because we did fist bumps all the time. They called it the "knocking rocks" or "bumping rocks." So as long as 14-year-old boys who love Star Wars and Linkin Park are doing fist bumps with 20-something teachers who have ancient language masters degrees and who really like L.M. Montgomery, I think it's safe to say that it's not a gang symbol. What it is, in fact, is pretty much done by everybody, and has been co-opted by us whites, just like pretty much everything else. See also: Jazz, Rock and/or Roll, "izzle."
In other news, holy crap is Michelle Obama beautiful or what?
Lookit that face! LOOK!
How can anyone say anything mean about this guy? Look at his daughter! I've worn that facial expression before, it means, "OMG! MY DAD IS AWESOME! MAKE HIM PRESIDENT!" My dad would make a kickass president. But so would this guy, and my dad isn't running for president (YET), so my vote goes here.
