It was very exhausting watching the elections for so many months. I’m glad it’s finally over and even happier with the results.

My husband, Richard, was a Foreign Service Officer with the Department of State for over twenty years, and we served in thirteen countries on five continents. We were always proud to represent America. Our job was to make friends with the local people and introduce them to all that was good about our democracy, our culture, and our people.

During the last eight years we seem to have lost our way. We were not that interested in talking to anyone, other than our friends and allies. We did very little to engage diplomatically with other countries. Our efforts were, for the most part, too little, too late, or nothing at all. We put into place a policy that said, in effect, “our way, or the highway.”

Finally the elections are over and Barack Obama is our president-elect. He will not be our president until January, but I am already excited for America. The very fact that we elected such an intelligent and thoughtful BLACK man has already improved our image in the world. Once again it makes me very proud to be an American. Now, we will use diplomacy first, rather than force, to settle our world problems. We will listen and respect what others have to say.

This article of mine was first published at JustOneOpinion.com on December 14th, 2008.  Just One Opinion is a website that is edited and managed by my friend Richard Kelly and my webmaster, John Hoyle.  Be sure to check it out.