By Jaimie Grotjan
Nov. 4 was a theatrical climax, not unlike past election days. However, this titillated atmosphere of victory and defeat is new to me, a first-time voter.
A group of African-American students barrel through the dorm lobby brandishing flags and balloons, shouting, “OHHH-bama!” The victory cries echo four floors up.
A couple passes me on campus, discussing how emotional adherence to Obama’s “change” rhetoric “is so annoying.” Just behind me, a second couple is having a tête à tête about the Senate. I haven’t heard students casually chatting about the Senate since Nancy Pelosi was elected Speaker of the House.
My father, usually reticent about political preference, sends me a text message that reads like unedited RSS feed from a liberal news site: “My man, Obama, just declared winner.”
I receive an issue of The Economist. A clean, white background; a classy man in a red tie; the words “it’s time” in bold black.
My mind jumps back to the scene in “The Matrix Revolutions” where a young boy stands above a crowd of exhausted but hopeful people and proclaims, “The war is over! The war is over!”
America seems to heave a sigh of relief at the conclusion of this presidential race. Life isn’t a flick with feel-good endings, though. Wars are still occurring on physical and metaphorical fronts alike, and the man of the hour hasn’t assumed his position yet. Keep that in mind before shouting about the salvation of Zion.
Jaimie Grotjan, a sophomore from Fort Worth, has interned with Fort Worth Magazine and the Oklahoma Daily.