Today, I see the magic of what took place Tuesday night. Like it or not, it was a historic moment in our history. In the past year, those of us who tried to get past the rhetoric and garbage that usually mark a political campaign were able to see that barriers were being shattered.

Glass ceiling? They can say it was cracked but the truth is it has been broken. Now it is just a matter of the right person climbing on through. Race barrier? Knocked down and hopefully it will never be put back in place. Age? It was thrown in the mix the same as gender and race, and just like those supposed restraints, we knew in our hearts it wasn’t age but a slight risk of illness that was the real issue. I wish I had the stamina amd strength exhibited by Sen. McCain.

None of those so-called issues were a barrier to me. Back in the 70s, I got past so many issues and sometimes have trouble understanding people who still cling to them. I look around at the diverse group of friends I have and I realize how much I wish the world could be as loving and accepting.

The past months have caused me to do a lot of looking at myself. No matter how much I like to think I’ve read or talked about facing mortality, when you come face-to-face with it up close and personal, it makes you rethink everything you believe.

This election has been a major part of discussions in my home. For the first time, Nancy has been watching, reading, and learning not only about issues but about the individuals. Our children discuss politics and issues with us, and ask questions that have us running to the computer to Google because we realize we know less about the process than we thought we did.

But Tuesday night was when I came to realize that we’d been following this campaign as a sort of parallel to what we’ve been going through. For months, we’ve been bombarded with news of the ills of the world. On another historic front, our economy crashed and the term Global Market became a true reality. Friends and family were affected by the housing market nose-dive. Wars, rumors of wars, and the terrible costs were a daily factor in the mix of campaign promises. Budgets of states, counties and cities were being decimated and like rain, ice and freezing temperatures can destroy a roadway, slashed funding can leave us with giant potholes in the infrastructure of our country.

I think about my life and many of the things that molded and shaped me into the being I am today. As I reflect on why I chose to vote the way I did, I come to the cold realization that even though many of the promises (or lies) were a part of my decision making process, the moment I entered the voting booth those were not the reason I voted like I did.

Experience taught me long ago that campaign promises are usually broken, that there is no magic wand to solve the ills and problems, that if it was really as simple and easy as putting a person in office, we wouldn’t be in the shape we are in today.

Like millions of others, I don’t think I voted because I thought my candidate would actually fix all of this.

I voted the way I did because for the first time in years I was tired of fear.

Today, the world isn’t better, the sun isn’t brighter, the birds don’t sing any sweeter. And I’ll still be scared at times and I’ll fret and fume and verbally flail at what I don’t understand.

But I’ll not give in to fear.

Today, I cling to hope. Be it physical, mental or spiritual, I cast my vote. And from the reaction around the world, it seems millions share that hope, maybe in a different way but for right now, we share hope.

Do we truly have the power of positive thinking?

I think we have the chance to find out.

Today, as an individual, I’ll give it a try.

After all, what have I got to lose?

In my fellow man, in eternity, in God.

I vote hope.

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