Democracy

It was a tough week. I am so disappointed in the results of the election. I hope I am wrong. I hope President Obama has an incredibly productive second term. I pray that he moves a bit more to the center as President Clinton did in his second term. I hope that President Obama will become more of a leader and less of a celebrity. More meetings with world leaders and taking care of governing business; fewer appearances on The View, Letterman, etc. I worry that people worship President Obama in a way that clouds judgement and prevents the media from asking him tough questions and making him accountable. But I would love it if I am worrying about nothing and would be pleased if our country was still a thriving democracy four years from now.
Election Day was interesting. We voted as a family at 6:15 am. (Wayne has maintained our house as his official legal residence since moving back from Ohio since he moves apts almost every year.) That was cool. Then my school was a polling place and my school day started with the discovery that big items were missing from our classroom, most notably our good desk chairs. Turns out an election judge took them!!! Right out of my classroom! Without leaving a note or asking permission. She was incredibly rude when I asked her about it. She felt entitled to it. Guess what political party with which she was affiliated? Tamara, my aide, had another one of our chairs that she suggested they could use. See picture! So funny. (In case you were wondering, we did let the election judges use our chairs...of course) All day we dealt with voters not reading the signs about where to enter to vote. By the end of the school day, we as a staff (of all political persuasions) had to ask ourselves how the heck folks could be informed voters if they couldn't even read the sign directing them where to enter to vote!
Both Wayne and Sally were home in the evening to watch the returns with Jack and me. It was very special to be all together as a family, even though our candidate did not win.
I praise God for our country and democracy and the freedoms that we enjoy. I pray that I would have the wisdom and courage to do what I can to ensure that our freedoms, especially religious freedoms, continue.