A Golden Moment

The tension before the 2012 Presidential election was exhausting at the end. I thought our President would win with a very modest margin, so I was thrilled to witness the excitement of election night, with the President declared the winner, without even needing crucial swing states like Ohio and Florida! It was unbelievable. Democracy works after all, after all the lies and shenanigans from the Republican side to block voting, making me feel  I was watching an election in some obscure dictatorship ruled country. The obstruction of a right as fundamental as voting, smacked of fascism on the part of the President's opponents. Shameful! The relief I felt that President Barack Obama earned a second term was real and heartfelt. His acceptance speech was full of wisdom, humility and a true sense of community and humanity. I felt hope surge through my entire being. YES! This is a victory for the good guys. I am so relieved, for this country, for the world, for the old here, for my son's generation in college, for all people in this country who are trying to believe in life and hope, in dignity and the realization of their talents and dreams. I am an immigrant from Belgium, and as the right political wing kept squeezing the life and hope out of the majority of its citizens, promising only worse and more apocalyptic scenarios, with their agenda that was bent on turning the clock back 50 years, I started to wonder why I ever left my country of birth. President Obama brought that hope and faith in this amazing country back. I feel like a weight was lifted off my heart and soul. The same way the cloud of despair was lifted when he was elected in 2008, and he saved the world from another Depression after his predecessor's disastrous run, that left our country in a stranglehold. All the lies, all the money, all the obstruction from Congress, nothing stopped this courageous man from getting this country back on its feet. Since President Obama took office, I feel proud again to be an American citizen. Under his predecessor, I felt so discouraged and disgusted, I wanted to move to Canada. But the people have spoken! Democracy is still alive , and kicking and it sure feels good. The President's acceptance speech felt like a golden moment, a moment where the world made sense, and it did not feel crazy to believe in continued decency, prosperity for all, to believe in civic responsibility, compassion, integrity, happiness and health.