Aquacena L, Oakland, CA:

I too am giddy, and very hopeful to the point of almost taking a red-eye fight to the inauguration… just me, I couldn’t talk anyone else into standing in the cold for hours, but I couldn’t get a flight.

But, here’s the interesting part… I am not American. I am still Canadian, literally, not like people traveling pretending to be American. I am a US resident and it hasn’t bothered me not being a citizen because there are only two things that I cannot do: 1. Work for a defense contractor (like this is a big incentive), and 2. Vote. Up until this election, I have not had the desire to vote. I know, you might say, “What about those horrible Republicans we’ve had in office?” My belief had always been that no matter who the president was, America’s system of checks and balances worked and the country ran as usual with very few modifications. But, with our last president taking the country for a joy ride, I no longer believe this.

Even though I didn’t get to vote this time, I gave money to Obama’s election and, more importantly, got involved during the campaign to make phone calls to voters in undecided States. For this, I got an invitation to the inauguration, which I will treasure always. I am thrilled that the US has turned an important page in history, not just because of the president’s race, but also because of the direction that he will take the country.

Another part of my reluctance to becoming a citizen was how poorly Americans are viewed around the world, and you know how I love to travel. On my last trip to Australia last month, I received nothing but encouraging comments from those I met, all along the theme of, “We’d written you guys off, but now that you’ve elected Obama, maybe we’ll give you another chance.”

About the effect on our children, my half Asian, half Hispanic daughter, Maya’s, reaction when she heard that there had never been an African American president was, “That is so mean,” which is age-appropriate for “That is so wrong or unjust.” She is a huge Obama fan and wrote a persuasive essay for school early in the campaign about why he should be president. She told me that her female teacher came up to her afterwards and said something like, “I was planning to vote for Hilary, but you’ve convinced me otherwise.” Perhaps this is the start of her moving the banner forward to who knows where. I hope to get a front-row seat if she is ever at a swearing-in ceremony.