Election 2004 was not a referendum on race

Few events have produced such mixed emotions in the Village as the recent presidential election. There are mixed reactions because politically the Village is changing. I recently heard a commentator on MSNBC say that the African American vote went exclusively for Sen. Kerry. I totally disagree.

There was a time when the Village's allegiance was totally committed to the Democratic Party as a result of the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This is no longer so. There are those in the Village who are Republicans. There is an emerging group, who I call "party neutral." Their allegiance is to no party, but they vote for the candidate they feel best suits their interest.

There are those in the community who are disappointed that Sen. Kerry is not president, those who are happy that President Bush was re-elected and there are those who are not excited about either.

Many African Americans males are veterans. This is because of the former draft, and the fact that the military is the answer to many who come from low-income families and don't have money for college. There were those who voted in the Village solely because of the war in Iraq.

The Village consists of persons who are very spiritual. It is important to many in the Village that a president openly practices his faith. They want to know that their leader is one who asks for "divine guidance" in making decisions.

There are those who have become disenchanted because they see shadows of what happened in 2000 because once again a presidential election was determined -- in the end -- by one state.

Regardless of what we feel and how we voted, it is time to move on. We need to put our differences aside. The country has spoken and George W. Bush is not their president, he is our president. We need to come together and pray for him because the president is not the final authority, God is.