I just finished watching a very gracious and encouraging concession speech from Senator John McCain. For the first time, I’m overjoyed that he is one of the leaders guiding the future of our country.

I’m writing this not to gloat or complain. I’m not writing it to endorse or decry. I’m writing this to you, all of my conservative republican friends. Those of you expressing disgust and fear regarding our future as a country.

Without addressing my opinions of President Elect Obama’s leadership ability and how hopeful I am that his idealism and consistent principles will mean great things for our country, I want to address some very positive things that you may not be considering.

First, it’s been mentioned blithely up till now in the media, but of course tonight it is getting much more attention: the fact that we just elected a member of a racial minority group – a black man – to the presidency speaks volumes about how far we’ve come as a nation from the atrocities of slavery and from decades of bigotry and racism. Whether you dislike Obama because he is liberal, because he’s a democrat, because he’s relatively inexperienced or even because he’s black, you must acknowledge that electing a black president represents a major shift in America’s overall position regarding minorities. This is a very important day in our history. I’m certain that Mr. Obama would much rather we acknowlege him as the best man for the job, which we just did with our votes, but I can’t help but think about the significance of his race on this historical day. This doesn’t mean an end to racism or bigotry, but maybe it means the beginning of the end.

Second, I believe very much in the importance of a strong leader as the figurehead of our country. I believe that today we have elected a leader who will affect policy for generations to come and will indeed make changes that will be felt very soon. However, the beauty of this nation, the thing that makes us great, is that one man…not even a few men…cannot change the face of our nation without our permission. Hopefully seeing through the naysayers and conspiracy theorists of our time, you all will realize that our great nation is lead by us, the American people.

Because I love to quote television and movies, and because I think that Major Dick Winters (portrayed in HBO mini series Band of Brothers) is one of the coolest human beings to ever live, I’m going to quote something that I find completely illuminating. In response to a junior officer refusing to solute out of personal disdain for him, Major Winters stopped the officer and said, “Capt Sobel, we salute the rank, not the man.” This military principle is powerful in so many ways.

I would encourage each and every one of you, from this day forward, to rally around our new president. Not because he’s Barack Obama. Not because he’s a democrat or a liberal or black. Rally around him because he’s now the figurehead of our nation and that alone means he deserves our support for the next four years. To support the president is to support the American people.

Am I devaluing anarchy and questioning authority? Absolutely not. On the eve of Guy Fawkes Day, I wouldn’t dream of such a thing. We should continually hold our leadership accountable for their actions, including the president. But as much as I value anarchy and free thought, I also love my country and value patriotism. And I believe everyone could use a dose of that today. Those of us celebrating, and those of you not.

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