I Am Hopeful

I am one of the many who is glad that Obama prevailed and is our President-Elect. I am hopeful that he will live up to the hype and redirect our country back to the path that it has so drastically veered from these past 8 years. I watched anxiously as the polls closed in key states and celebrated when Obama clinched the battleground states that were so vitally important in winning this election. I watched McCain's gracious concession speech and thought that if he could have come across that humble and gracious throughout his campaign he would have stood a much better chance (although that doesn't change his stance on issues it maybe would have changed how some viewed him). I realize that while I am celebrating this victory there are many who are disappointed and beyond that angry and indignant and blinded by their party's propoganda.

This victory gives me a lot of hope. While I have great hope for Obama's presidency, I also have hope for the millions of Americans who are disappointed by this decision. I would hope that they would really look at what Obama has said and where he stands on the issues and not cling to the rhetoric that has been so prevalent throughout the campaign. I would hope that people would quit saying Obama plans to do one thing when he has very clearly said he'd do the other. I would hope that it would become less and less acceptable to so casually toss around words like, "terrorist, Muslim, socialist" as synonymous with Obama. I realize all candidates run on issues and promises that some either aren't able to keep, won't keep, or simply had no intention of every keeping. That's just the way it is whether you are a Republican, Democrat or somewhere in between. What has bothered me and what I would hope would now stop is the gross misrepresentation of Obama's plans when it comes to issues like taxes, healthcare, abortion, education, and the environment.

I have sat and listened to ignorant people claim that because he attended a Muslim school when he was a CHILD that certainly means he is a Muslim today. How can someone be held accountable for decisions that parents made for them when they were a minor? I have sat and listened to people tear apart his tax plan with gross inaccuracies. You may not agree with his plan, but at least get what he is proposing correct. Half the people complaining about having "their" money taken and given to the "poor" and "lazy" don't make enough to be affected by these increases anyway. I have sat and listened to conservative Christians claim Obama is "for" abortion. Is anyone "for" abortion, truly? Being against the government having a say in a personal and moral matter does not make someone "for" the issue at hand. There is a difference.

It was interesting to me during Bush's administration the number of Republicans who said all the time how Bush is our President and like it or not we should support his decisions and support him. For the most part I agree with that. While I personally thought Bush was one of the worst President's this country has ever seen and I disagreed with him on almost everything I always had respect for the office he held and would never wish him any personal harm or misfortune. It will be even more interesting if this sentiment of respect and support is now expressed when there is a man in office who they did not vote for. Does the same courtesy apply?

This campaign and election has brought out both the best and worst in people. It is amazing to me to think about how many people voted this year. It is mind-boggling that a black man will soon hold the highest office in the land when it was not that long ago that a black man could not even vote. I am hopeful tonight that this nation can find a way to come together, to meet somewhere in the middle and start finding solutions to the problems that have plagued us for so many years. We need a president who can do that and honestly I think we will soon have him.

Here's to hoping, America!