As I hope many of you did, I decided to take to social media and encourage others to vote this past Tuesday. I’ve encountered friends who had become apathetic and even faced some apathy myself this election year, but as a human rights activist I knew had to put my vote where my mouth was.  Now I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook for various reasons, but one of them is that during the last election cycle the amount of hate poured on Barack Obama that took over my news feed nearly broke my heart.  I’m from Louisiana (you know, that red state that made the wrong decision this year) and the Bible belt with all those lovely Southern Republicans.  I had grandparents of friends posting that Obama was the Devil, the Antichrist, and basically the root of all evil.  I eventually had a ‘fight’ with a childhood friend about being a minority in America vs. her being a white minority in Africa in her early childhood that ended with her aunt chiming in on the truth about Barack Obama.  Yea, I don’t remember what that truth supposedly was only that I obviously needed to hide some crazy people from my news feed.

But this election year, I was determined to not say anything negative on social media about this campaign, Mitt Romney, or President Obama.  I knew who I was voting for, I knew his platform, he cared about issues important to me, and I believe in time he would get the job done to the best of his ability.

So, here are the reasons why I love my President:

1)   He’s damn smexy!

I’m shallow and I’ll be the first to admit it.  I haven’t seen this amount of smexyness since John F. Kennedy came on the scene with that Boston accent and made you do a double take.  (Yes, I’m 24 years old).

2)   He cares about issues important to ME!

I am a Christian and I’m pro-choice. God values free will, therefore, I do too.  I also highly value the safety and authority over my own womb!

Obama values equal pay for women.  Women do 2/3 of the world’s work and earn less than 10% of the world’s wages.  Yea, who really runs the world?

He’s done so much justice for social issues.  I’m also a human rights activist, whose focused on women’s rights, LGBT rights, and other issues, such as racism and genocide.

Finally, I’m part of the recession generation (Gen-Y or the so-called “Lost Generation).  There have been so many statistics about us with little hope for employment, owning homes, and possibly even marriage and children.  Obama has shown time and time again he cares about young people through healthcare reform, making college more affordable, and hopefully he will help open up more jobs for us.

3)   He loves black women!

Hello, Mrs. O is one of the most inspirational women on this planet and he’s married to her.  His mother-in-law lives with him.  He also has two daughters and has been intentional about being a positive and present figure in their lives, so they can understand how a man is supposed to treat them:  WITH RESPECT.

4)   He comes from a multicultural environment.

Hello, he is a swirl!  Not only ethnically, but also culturally and I believe it is because of this many can identify with him on some level.

5)   He was raised by a single mom.

I was too.  He has witnessed first-hand what single mothers go through in this country and personally, I don’t feel we do enough.  That is something I hope we can change.

Tuesday, I logged on to Facebook only to encounter that same stirring hate, 4 years older and 4 years stronger.  The sad part though, was that again I know these people personally.  I grew up with them.  They have gay friends and family.  Many of them were socially progressive and cared about women’s rights. But I do know and understand they value tradition, which I felt led them to choose the Republican candidate. But why the need to spew out all this hate on one human being?  I don’t understand why when we should ALL respect the office of POTUS.  I don’t think ANYONE got away with that during the Bush era, from ANY party, without some backlash. Why is it okay to treat Obama this way.

I had many friends state their parents or grandparents would disown them, if they were Democrat or supported anything liberal.  But also, there is this naïveté towards policies and social issues.  They don’t research platforms or think about possible policies that will affect them.  They only vote for who their friends and family do and that the Democrat opponent, must be the devil or Communist. I went to private, Christian schools until my sophomore year of High School and remember being taught that if I did not vote Republican I was not a Christian.  And I was Republican, until I came to NYC and realized that I’m African-American woman, who was raised by a single mother and see the world from a very different perspective than my former peers. (Please let me point out that this is not a rant against Republicans, especially moderate GOPs or RHINOs) Everyone has the right to determine their opinion, their values, and their party and should exercise it fully.  Each person must decide what fits most with his or her own personal values and perspective, instead of simply relying on public opinion.   But even if you hate the President, at least respect the office and his authority.  The next 4 years will be tough enough, lets live up to the title of these UNITED STATES.