Allow me to wax political for a moment

Regardless of how you feel about the election or how you voted, it was a historical event, and an election that will go down in the history books. I will remember it for a completely different reason.

First of all, I voted for the first time via absentee ballot. I do not usually vote in local elections, because I am usually (sadly) quite uninformed about the issues on the ballot. I would rather not vote, than vote against something I believe in, or for something I don't. I have never, however, missed a presidential election since I turned 18 (which has only been three, but still). I'm usually very forgetful about these sorts of things, but I managed to get myself a ballot in snail mail in enough time for it to be counted. And luckily I was able to sit at my desk at work while voting, because there were a few things on the Florida ballot that I hadn't heard of (like No 2), and wanted to vote on, but I wasn't sure about the wording. I was able to look on the internet with the ballot in my hand to find out what they meant and how I wanted to vote.

The second, and more important reason that I will remember this election is what happened later on in the day. I have one co-worker from DC that had been watching the internet and the polls to see who was winning. She and I were both excited as in between classes we watched the numbers grow for Obama. During one of my afternoon breaks, we discovered it was certain. A few hours later, my Korean co-workers asked if I had seen the presidential election results. I replied with a resounding whoop that I had. They seemed just as excited about it as I was. Though I was on my way to a class, this made me wonder - why were they excited about an election in another country? I was certainly never interested in elections outside the US.

Later that night I went out for dinner and drinks like I do every Wednesday with four other people from Canada, Britain, Scotland, and South America. We must have toasted Obama a half a dozen times throughout the night - and never once was it my idea. We forget sometimes as Americans that the whole world is watching us, and sometimes not in a good way (like an ant under a magnifying glass). Not that we are that important or special, but because what we do as a country has a direct impact on the rest of the world. Foreign policy, military strategy, tolerance, religion; all of our values and morals are being scrutinized by the rest of the world. Keep that in mind the next time you vote.