“This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.” - President Elect Barack Obama, November 4, 2008, Chicago, Illinois
Scott wrote his thoughts for after the election yesterday… I thought I would wait a day or two in an attempt to wrap my head around it all.
That still hasn’t happened.
We witnessed history… we saw barriers broken down… we saw an electorate collectively thumb their noses to conservatism… we saw
This election was about change and the future. it was about the economy. It was about our standing in the world. It was about Iraq and Afghanistan.
It was all of those things… and more.
As my cousin Ray said; somewhere our Uncle Nishan and my Uncle Ray are looking down crying… seeing something that they always believed in, racial equality, coming to a conclusion that neither may have ever thought possible.
But this election is so much more than that… for the last eight years we’ve seen this country we all love fall from grace.
A new day is dawning.
A new beginning is upon us.
Rather than take time off to re-energize, Obama has hit the ground running; arranging his transition team, vetting potential cabinet holders, and being briefed on national security and the economy.
And what of John McCain? It’s no secret to anyone that reads this blog on a regular basis that I at one time admired Sen. Mr. McCain as he did tend to veer away from his own party and seemingly wasn’t afraid to disagree with them… but he ran what I consider to be an absolutely repulsive campaign as he demeaned himself and his memory the way he ran it, allowing himself to be sucked in by the leaders of the republican party that probably promised him the Oval Office… and he chomped at the bit for that… and it cost him dearly. Not only a victory, but his honor as well.
But his concession speech was a positive first step of exoneration as he spoke from the heart about race and what this election meant on a grander scale… he also offered an olive branch to President-elect Obama, who outwardly accepted it when, in their conversation after Obama was declared the winner, he asked for Senator McCain’s assistance, saying “I need your help, you’re a leader on so many important issues.”
If these two men can cast aside their differences and the sniping that each one leveled at the other during the campaign, can’t we all? If they can do, why can’t their rabid supporters do the same?
Unfortunately, as Scott already mentioned, quite a few of the republican faithful are continuing with the ‘fear and smear’ campaign that’s been the hallmark of this campaign.
Shouldn’t it be time to stop this ridiculousness and have all Americans come together to alleviate the myriad of problems facing this nation?
Will changing the country for the better be hard? Definitely…
Will President Obama face difficult problems in office? Absolutely…
Will we, as a nation, have our hope tested? Almost certainly…
Can Obama, and in turn all of us, make this country better for everyone? For the first time in over seven years, I feel I can honestly reply yes.
Yes… we can.
May God bless President-elect Obama and may God bless the United States of America.
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