Sweet Relief

I know what you're thinking.

You're thinking this is another glowing, gloating epistle to the greatness of Obama.

Not so.

I am relieved.

Not because of who won, but because it is over.

Many, many, many Americans have expressed feelings of transcendant hope that Obama gives them.

I feel no such thing.

Although I voted for him, I still feel a lot of worry over the economy, health care, education....the whole ball of wax. It's a lot for one guy to fix. And I worry that we've created iron shackles of expectation that will weigh heavily on his untested wrists.

But still, I am relieved.

This election has consumed our nation, and it has divided us neatly and decisively. Red and blue. Elephants and donkeys. Conservatives and liberals.

We have been at war right here on our own soil. It has been waged in living rooms and coffee houses and cubicles and churches and town halls.

People have judged one another and judged harshly.

I saw the last election do inestimable damage. It was ironic, given that the message of peace was being delivered on a tide of invective. It was disheartening given that those aching for change were those most mired in the antipathy of the past.

A lot of people are celebrating. Some are mourning.

I'm really doing neither.

I'm just waiting.

Waiting for fences to be mended. Waiting for the fear to go away. Waiting for change. Waiting to see if we've done the right thing.

Waiting for our country to be whole again.