Wednesday Smiles

[only_more_love]

My smile, my tears, and my hope:

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

I promise you, we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem.

But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
...

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too."

+

I don't think Barack Obama is anything more or less than a man.  I don't think he's going to save the world or make this country into something shiny and new.  I don't agree with all his policies and beliefs.

But I do believe he's smart and sensible, kind and compassionate, and genuinely interested in serving his country and his world.  We need a steady hand, and I believe he has that.  I'm tired of America being seen as the mean, ill-tempered bully of the globe.  No country can afford to conduct itself that way; we've done so at our -- and the world's -- peril.  Being president of the United States of America isn't a joke or a chance to run roughshod over peoples' rights; I believe he knows that and will remember that as he governs in this extremely difficult time.

This IS history in the making.  He is of mixed race.  He is the son of an immigrant.  In his own words, he "...was never the likeliest candidate for this office."  He has inspired millions.  I didn't vote for him for any of those reasons, but they are nonetheless significant.  The pride and joy that filled my heart yesterday and continue to fill it today are nearly indescribable.  Cliched though it may be, I will remember this moment for the rest of my life and tell my future children about the day millions of Americans braved bad weather, long lines, broken voting machines, and their own cynicism and mistrust in order to perform this sacred civic duty.  I'm thrilled we elected Obama, but what makes me happiest is just that people went out and voted.  People fight, kill, and die for that privilege; it's hard to overstate its importance.   

Now the real work begins...for all of us.

I mostly post fannish things in this journal, but I think it's easy to forget that there is a real person behind the fic and the Bones commentary. Same goes for other people, of course. So I'd like to take a minute to acknowledge our humanity.

If you'd like to do so, please tell me something that made you smile this week, no matter how small. Could be the snuggle your dog gave you on Monday, the song you discovered on Tuesday, or the way your significant other smiled at you today. I've been posting these since December. If you feel up to it, please respond—here, in your own journal, or elsewhere. Feel free to post more than one thing and/or respond to other comments.

Why am I doing this? Because I think it is far too easy to get caught up in the stresses, big and small, that we all experience. Being able to focus on one positive thing, however small, can give one a valuable sense of perspective.

Why Wednesday? I figure a little mid-week cheer can't hurt. :)

 

Comments

[dabhug.livejournal.com]

:o) Love.

[lerdo.livejournal.com]

*hugs you and twirls you around* :)

[dabhug.livejournal.com]

Woo! Dizzy! :o)

[greyskygirl.livejournal.com]

His amazingly moving, eloquent speech. The fact that my stubbornly red state swung blue. The fact that we, as a country, finally stood up and said we'd had enough. I have had no better reasons to smile in a long time.

Yes, we can. Fucking a.

(Sorry, but I think you understand the emotion involved here.)

[lerdo.livejournal.com]

♥

I thought of you last night as we watched the Indiana results come in.

No need to be sorry; fuck is a very versatile word. Of course, I'll have to be a little more discreet about using it once the baby's here. *g*

[tempertemper77.livejournal.com]

Random crash: I'll have to be a little more discreet about using it once the baby's here. *g*

It's a word used with versatility around here very often. I thought we'd learnt our lesson with Sophie on that one, but the other day Joe told the cat to, 'Fuck off.' Seems you never stop learning ;)

[lerdo.livejournal.com]

hahahaha That sounds like exactly the kind of thing that's liable to happen to us. We're trying to watch our mouths now, and I can't tell you how often DH slips, then looks guiltily at my stomach and says, "Sorry, baby." I suppose we'll have some explaining to do when one of baby's first words is fuck. *g*

[tempertemper77.livejournal.com]

*g*

Well at least you can take comfort in not being the only one ;)

[binkii822.livejournal.com]

/crash
I teach preschool. At school today one of my little darlings came up and told me "___ said 'a' 's' 's'!" I never did determind if said child said it or spelled it. I had such a hard time not laughing! Both mamas would have been so appalled!

[tempertemper77.livejournal.com]

LOL! Out of the mouths of babes ;)

[amilyn.livejournal.com]

HEEE!

Elf's first word was "fish" and then her second word was "duck" ....and then my friend mtgat told me I was going to have to clean up my language.

In my house and mtgat's house, the most common and effective command given the pets is "Bugger off." We figure that, as profane as it really is, we are less likely this way to get called into school (in the states). :-)

"Frell" is also excellent.

[tempertemper77.livejournal.com]

Hee :) You have good words that satisfy the urge to swear but aren't too bad! My Sophie called a friend's little girl a 'little bugger' once - I nearly died!

[greyskygirl.livejournal.com]

I was up past midnight, refreshing CNN.com like a maniac, waiting for us to flip blue.

It's a word beautiful in its versatility. And no discretion yet. *g* But soon!

[tempertemper77.livejournal.com]

My smile is your smile :D

And you are one eloquent woman, btw ;)

[lerdo.livejournal.com]

My smile is your smile :D

Lots of folks smiling today. :D Yay!

And you are one eloquent woman, btw ;)

I think old age has turned me into a bit of a windbag. *g*

[tempertemper77.livejournal.com]

OK, I'm fairly sure you are either a year younger than me or a year older, but either way you don't get to say that!

[lerdo.livejournal.com]

*g* I turned 31 on August 5th of this year. Oh, how the time does fly.

[tempertemper77.livejournal.com]

OK, so you're less than six months younger than me. Even more reason!! And yes, time does fly. Sheesh.

[mdemvizi.livejournal.com]

OMG. Your icon just made me LOL so hard.

[tempertemper77.livejournal.com]

Hee :) It's fab isn't it? By leviathan101

[la-tante.livejournal.com]

your misha is coming into a new world! thank god. my squee cannot be contained by the internet!!!!! woooooooohoooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

[britt-1975.livejournal.com]

My smile is because I had to stand in a line yesterday. I've never, in the three presidential (and all the other) elections I've voted in, I've never, ever had to wait in line. Yesterday it took me two attempts to vote because the first time I had to leave after an hour so that I could go to work. That line meant that people were taking advantage of the right that good men and women have died to secure for us. So that's my smile.

[melissa-pbfan.livejournal.com]

My smile was when I watched CNN and saw all those White and Black people celebrating together in the streets, in a country that is separated from mine by the Atlantic Ocean. It made me smile and brought tears in my eyes at the same time.

[lizook12.livejournal.com]

Your smile is my smile, too. That speech was incredible and I found myself grinning and getting teary at the same time.

I don't agree with all his policies and beliefs.

But I do believe he's smart and sensible, kind and compassionate, and genuinely interested in serving his country and his world. We need a steady hand, and I believe he has that. I could not have said it better myself. (Obviously, since I just copied and pasted a chunk of what you wrote.) I feel a hopefulness today though that I can't remember feeling before. We can, indeed.

[lostakasha.livejournal.com]

This is such an amazing day, in some ways more so than last night's elation. I woke up this morning feeling awestruck; not necessarily that Obama is president-elect, but that in the face of the daunting struggles we're facing as a nation, people rose up and cried "enough!"

And what's the first thing I see this morning? Maya Angelou, tears in her eyes and a hushed wonder in her voice -- and that was it for me. I haven't been able to think straight since. And, for the first time in my adult life (having recently passed the half-century mark), I feel the exquisite pain that is the meeting of what I've witnessed before and what I'm witnessing now. It's breathtaking and crippling and unbearably joyful; I'm terrified and thunderstruck and I want to kiss strangers in the street.

*smooches you to bits*

[beccagw.livejournal.com]

My smile:

You commented on my journal! It made me soooo happy. :)

Also, I firmly believe that wherever Barack Obama takes us in the next four years, it'll be better than where we are now. And that makes me smile, despite my candidate having lost.

xoxo

[elena1701.livejournal.com]

My smile today is obviously the US election result :)

Plus, I had a really nice weekend. It was my oldest sister's 40th birthday so we all got together to celebrate - I have three older sisters, and we are scattered across the UK, so the times the four of us are together are rare!

[mistletoe54.livejournal.com]

My smile is I can remember 4 years ago that all my online friends fell back with horror at the result that Dubya was back. After those four years there is hope of relief and progress. So yes that's why we are smiling. And I'm not even American.

[kwizbit.livejournal.com]

I was so elated when it was announced that Obama was the presidential elect for 2008. Oh yes :)

[humatheguma.livejournal.com]

Damn it, L, I thought I was done crying. I cried last night all the way from when we got Ohio to the time I went to sleep. I knew I'd cry if he lost; I had absolutely NO idea I'd cry this much if he won. Beautiful entry.

[highvoltage11.livejournal.com]

Waking up on Nov 5th 2008 knowing that America believes in hope. Believes in good. Believes in progress. Believes in tolerance. Believes in itself.

[binkii822.livejournal.com]

My f-list is my smile. I live in a seriously red state in a EXTREMELY conservative community. LJ helped me feel like I was not the lone Obama supporter out there! (Well, not lone, because my whole family - who live all over the country was Pro-Obama. Plus lots of people all over the country - but people I talk to.) Also my 13 year old daughter who went to school all week an argued for the candidate she (though me, admittedly) supported instead of bowing to peer pressure, or just being quiet, is my smile. Plus that whole election result, speech thing!

[mdemvizi.livejournal.com]

Your smile is mine ♥

His speech last night was one great speech. He is such an amazing speaker and I can't wait to hear more.

[siapom.livejournal.com]

*hugs you*

- Your post just me smile. And a little teary eyed. :)
- Last night. Watching the coverage and the speech, that made me smile.
- Knowing that I can look at my precious niece - whose mommy just happens to be white and whose daddy just happens to be black - and truly believe that she can do or be anything that she wants in the future made me hope, smile and cry tears of joy.

[pali167.livejournal.com]

My smile is the same as yours, but is tempered by the outcome of Prop 8.

My state is breaking my heart. Just breaking it.

[storybystory.livejournal.com]

I've been enjoying your stories for a while now, and every Wed when this post pops up in my feedreader I think I should respond, but I can never seem to think of what to say. My smile is easy today-- that I didn't give in to my first impulse to just keep the TV off and stay off the net last night, because I didn't think I could bear the disappointment if Obama wasn't elected. I found your "vote" posts on Monday and earlier pretty comforting, too, when I was starting to think the anxiety was going to Do Me In before Tuesday even got here.

So thank you for that, and these Wed invites to feel part of something bigger! I wanted to offer something I hope might make you smile in return--I have a serious affection for kids picture books and thought in your quest for recs, you might sometime like to browse the collection: http://www.librarything.com/catalog/jlspad&tag=childrens

[ggjunkie33.livejournal.com]

Your smile is probably the biggest one of my week ♥ :)
You phrased what I think about Obama perfectly (and ultimately much more elegantly than I could *g*).

It's amazing for me to think about how I'm experiencing this and actually feeling some of the importance of it despite not even being able to vote, and despite that it's a little hard for me to comprehend some things because I haven't experienced them. Recently I've felt lucky to be growing up in the time that I am, and that is my other major smile for this week :D

A minor smile for today? I went shopping and got some new winter clothes! :)