When Dreams Come True

I didn't think the vote counting in the U.S. presidential election would be done yesterday; in fact, the counting still continues, but now we know that Biden has won both the electoral college and the popular contests.

Careful readers of this blog know that I'm happy about this election, happy tempered with much concern.  I understand that many people voted for Trump in 2016 because they wanted a change.  In 2020, my question remains, "Is this the change you wanted?"

As I think about my voting life, I almost always vote for change.  This morning, let me celebrate the changes that we're witnessing:

--First female vice president

--First female of color vice president 

--First child of immigrants elected as VP

--First Jewish spouse of VP

--Oldest candidate elected

--Community college professor first lady--an English teacher!  She's also taught high school and special needs children.

That last entry keeps bubbling up in my mind.  We've had educated people at the top levels of government before, but we've had very few career educators there, and even fewer who worked in non-elite institutions.

I don't imagine the anti-education mood of the nation will vanish, but it's a relief to know that there are people headed to the White House who take education seriously--and not seriously in a gate keeping, only the worthy deserve education kind of way.

I'm also intrigued by Joe Biden's decades long attempts to be president.  His first attempt came when I was starting grad school, back in 1987.  Then it was a plagiarism charge that undid his campaign.  I would never have dreamed that he could recover from that.

As someone who has for decades been dreaming of publication for one of my book length manuscripts, I am heartened by the narrative that sometimes, those dreams can come true.

This morning, I'm heartened by the larger dreams that have come true:  the U.S. people have voted for a woman of color for their V.P.  The dreams of many an ancestor have come true.

Let us keep dreaming.