At 8 o’clock last night, a young woman was crying on a bus in the Lower Haight District of San Francisco. Anyone who has been to San Francisco knows this is not an uncommon sight. There are a lot of weepers riding the MUNI. They are fixtures. But the fact that random strangers were hugging on the bus was a bit more peculiar. You don’t see that too often. That takes something momentous.Whether you voted for Barack Obama or not, last night’s election was indeed momentous. The history books remember each president differently. Some get rather long chapters, others get brief mentions (sorry William Henry Harrison). And while we don’t know how this next president will be remembered yet, it can be assured that the voters will remember the night intensely.
This was the first time in recent memory (mine at least) that people were truly excited to take part in their democracy. Enthusiastically registering to vote? Getting involved in campaigns? Staying up until 3 AM to watch election returns precinct by precinct? That’s a pretty impressive amount of commitment. One can only hope this level of engagement and turnout is a trend for future elections. And if it is, that's something worth crying about.
posted by jw
