A Different Kind of Hope

I was thinking last night about the historical significance of this upcoming election. Barack Obama seems to inspire an amazing amount of hope in so many people. There are still so many real patriots left that want to see America become the great nation it never quite was. It seems like an awful lot of pressure to put on the poor guy.

Can one man really make that much change in a 4 year term? Assuming he doesn't get re-elected. Assuming he doesn't get...well, let's face it: if JFK was assassinated because he wanted Black & White kids to attend school together - what will the same type of ignorant people think of a Black president? I'm not sure we as a nation have come very far since then. If we had, then people would not be criticizing Obama for being a "half-breed Muslim". As if being any other religion than a protestant Christian makes you a poor leader or a bad person...(or what about no religion at all?)

But assuming he is elected and serves one full term- What can be done? It's a lot faster to destroy than rebuild, and Bush did enough damage in his first term than the 2nd made things seem hopeless. I think that Obama will have to pick what is most important to him, which always leaves someone left out. He will no doubt have the most difficult presidency in history. There is so much build-up and anticipation, both by people who'd like to follow him to the ends of the earth and by those who seek to squash him like a bug. A wrong move in any direction could be catastrophic.

But then I worry about what if he isn't elected. Can we really have another 4 years of the same old shit? I mean, really, McCain isn't about change. He is about tradition, status quo and most of all, self-interest. He doesn't care about poverty, about People of Color, about women of any ethnicity, about disaster survivors, about social services, about education, about the lives of soldiers OR foreign civilians. He doesn't care about you. And that's the place we've been at for 8 years already. Can I even say for sure that Barack Obama cares about me? No, but I am practicing my own definition of hope.

I am just starting to feel cynical about the whole thing. Is America even worth saving anymore? Or should we all pack up and go our separate ways. Maybe Canada...Norway...New Zealand?
Or maybe just everything seems torn to pieces now, it's too hard to see the real picture of this nation. I feel impotent and lost- it's so hard to pin-point what it would take to fix any of it. But one thing's for sure, more of the same won't do anything good.

Because of the stupid, insulting Electoral College, my vote doesn't mean diddly (though I'll give just the same, just in case). I live in New York. Obama's got us, no doubt. But especially if you live in a swing state, I urge you to vote and do what's right. Especially if you're cynical. Especially if you've never voted before.
No matter how unsure I am, I know that it can't hurt to take this chance. We really owe it to ourselves. Read more: http://www.blogdoctor.me/2007/02/expandable-post-summaries.html#ixzz1Ygp5vxLJ