Will the future of tomorrow hold what they deserve?

This post does not contain my usual attempt at wit and lack of grammer.

Last night I stayed up until about 3 am, glued to live blogs of the election. At about 3:30, when the House was firmly in Democratic hands and only the Montana and Virgina Senate races were undecided I conceded defeat and went to bed. About 7:30 in the morning, D called, claiming that I had just called her. I was so asleep but managed to ask her how it was going. It was the same. I woke up too late to read the articles about election day, and only had time to see that the results were unchanged.

I don't know how to write this blog entry. Part of me is shocked and optimistic, and the other part of me realizes that for a while, nothing will change.

Under the optimistic category:
1) South Dakota rejected the abortion ban.
2) Missouri voted to protect stem cell research - that stem cell research allowed under federal law would also be allowed in Missouri.
3) A democratic governor was elected in Ohio.
4) Rumsfield resigned.

Under the nothing will change:
1) Partianship will continue.
2) George Bush is still president.
3) We are still in Iraq.
4) Wisconsin voted for a ban on gay marriage.

There is more in both categories, but overall though, it seems that there has been a rejection of the Republican Party. I said to one of my friends, yesterday is like "snowing in July." All these things seem too good to be true. I just wish it hadn't taken 6 years for people to realize that America was headed down the wrong path.

I reread Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address yesterday, because something I was reading contained the phrase "last full measure of devotion." The last couple sentences of the 272 word speech (which i am sure most of you are familiar with) are:

"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

We have to keep working at making America a great country, and not allow partianship, corruption, and desire for retribution ruin the possibility that maybe, just maybe, everything will be alright in the end.

I'll write about Dublin tomorrow.