That sigh of relief you heard at 7 p.m. last night was all of America realizing the Presidential race was finally over.
No more negative campaign ads. Now, unfortunately, the talking heads will spend the next two weeks telling us why we voted the way we did. Still, even that signals the end of a process that started far too long ago.
Locally, we hope a big change will take place.
That is removing the race card from the deck of our vocabulary.
During this election that one card turned up more often than a bad penny.
If you ask most Americans, it wouldn’t matter if the person was green as long as they had the best interest for the country at heart.
We may or may not like the final outcome of the election, but those who voted had the right to voice their opinions.
For those who didn’t vote, or who are not even registered to vote, please make no comment in the next four years. We guess, if you never take a stand, you can always appear to be right, but it seems the easy way out.
You want to complain, but at the same time don’t want to risk having backed a particular candidate or party if those don’t do the right things.
If you don’t participate, fine. You don’t have to play football to enjoy the game, but don’t be trying to tell people you knew what should have been done. Everyone knows Monday morning quarterbacks are “always right”.
Later this month, we will be honoring the millions who put on a uniform to guarantee the right to participate in our form of government.
By not voting, you suggest those who died need not have done so because the right was unwanted or unneeded.
Some have said they’re just too busy to vote. Aren’t we all lucky the Minutemen managed to find a little time in the late 1700s? The same can be said of the soldiers in World War I and World War II.
Today, we have men and women who have answered the call, but come home to discover the effort unappreciated.
Yes, the election is over. Regardless the winning candidate, let’s all join together and wish him the best in solving America’s problems in the coming four years.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Our View – Nov. 7, 2012