I must say, I am breathing a sigh of relief today. The election south of the border is over and Obama slid in no problem. I was one of those who used to sort of like McCain (pre election campaign) but the choice of Palin as a running mate and selling his soul did me in. I was rather terrified that a potential candidate to run the good old US of A didn't seem to be able to get through an interview with Katie Couric never mind run the country.
I was rather fascinated by the Obama/Biden campaign. It is refreshing to see, rather brought me to tears several times to actually see a leader who has the ability to pull people together. To set an example that is so much larger than himself or his party. Hearing the familiar words spoken by Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”.
To hear the words chanted YES WE CAN.
HOPE SUCCEEDED..
I think I have been watching too much Newsworld lately because I have this ticker tape running in my head. There is but one line running across the bottom of the screen in my mind…. Equality and fairness under the law…. Equality and fairness under the law….
Discrimination comes in many forms. In my naivety, the thought never crossed my mind that I too would one day be a target of discrimination based on the shape of dog I own. I never dreamt that one day I too would be part of a civil rights movement to take back my rights to own what type/shape or breed of dog I choose to own.
Fear mongering fosters a blindness toward the removal of civil rights. Think about that statement for a moment. When is the last time you watched the ”news” in the main stream media and didn't hear about something was either bad for you or would be certain to kill you? Ban this, ban that. Don't do this, don't do that.. The list is endless and circular. The intent is to keep you in a constant state of panic and anxiety so you will want to tune in to the next newscast or read the next newspaper to see how you will possibly stay alive to see your kids grow up.
Yesterday was a breakthrough in hope, unity and equality that reaches far beyond the borders of the US. What happens in the USA doesn't stay in the USA. We are effected north of the border whether we like/acknowledge it or not. I couldn't help but feel part of the party. Obama's speech, in fact McCain's speech renewed my hope that maybe – just maybe – some common sense will begin to shine through like the sun poking through the clouds on a rainy day.
Here is another question to ask yourself..
How difficult is change; in the face of resistance to change and complacency?
Change is more often than not, a painful undertaking. The sustenance for change is the belief it is possible and a vision for the future.
Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true.
Martin Luther King Jr.