Turning point

I've never been so worried about the results of an election before. This is new for me.

Honestly, politics isn't something I think about a lot in my day-to-day life. I know it's important and it does have a big effect on my life and our world. I know those things. But I just don't trust a lot of things that go on in politics, and it gets confusing.

I wanted a change. I voted yesterday, and I had to make some tough decisions. I wanted Democrats to take over the Senate and the House because I wanted a change.

Honestly, I hate all the name-calling and the crap that goes with politics. It's frustrating! I hate that President Bush is on TV right now saying he will work through differences with the new leadership of the House and Senate. WHAT DIFFERENCES? Aren't we all for the United States? Aren't we all for the same team?

As I listened to the news this morning while I was getting ready for work, I realized what I'd wanted had most likely happened. But the thing is, as yesterday went on, I wasn't so sure that what I had wanted was really what I wanted. The change I wanted in Congress had nothing to do with red or blue, elephants or donkeys. I wanted a group leading us who would work (and by work, I don't mean labor, I mean click). I wanted a group who would bring different ideas and plans to the table.

But it all means so much more to me than it did before. The media gives such a different perspective of what happens overseas than K and his friends present. They tell stories of building schools and hospitals, working side by side with Afghanis, people thanking them at airports and giving up their seats on earlier flights so a soldier can get home from Iraq that much sooner to see his wife.

The Democrats have been applying pressure to bring the troops home. Obviously, everyone would rather have all those men and women safe and sound here in our country. But I read part of an article in The Washington Post recently where a soldier was talking about the rapport and the trust that the soldiers have built with Iraqis. He said that if we left now, it would upset that relationship and would leave the Iraqis feeling abandoned and betrayed. You don't usually hear that side in the media. And that side makes sense to me.

Now, there's the news that Donald Rumsfeld is leaving. My boss came in my office talking about how good that is. "Why is it good?" I asked him. He told me it would be really good for me, meaning that it will change the course of actions in Iraq, meaning K may not have to leave in August.

That's what I'm really worried about. The plan right now is that K will leave in August and be deployed to Iraq for a year. Obviously, I don't want him to go. I know there is so much left to happen before August gets here. It'll be close to an election year, and that will undoubtedly have an effect on what is going on in Iraq and with sending troops overseas. At the same time, there are things going on in the Sudan, in North Korea and in other parts of the world that could also affect where K is after next August.

I don't know what's going to happen, and this change all seems so big. I know the fact that some 23-year-old in Dallas is worrying about everything really won't have any affect on what happens or what doesn't happen.

I can only hope that God was listening to my prayer Monday night when I asked that he let those who have the right reasons in their hearts and who would be the best ones for their offices and our country to be the ones who are celebrating their new jobs Tuesday night.
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Less than 15 minutes after posting this, I found a quote online of a statement issued today that made me feel a lot better about everything:

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist: "Washington must now work together in a bipartisan way -- Republicans and Democrats -- to outline the path to success in Iraq."

If all this change makes everyone do a better job of working together, that can't be a bad thing.