Today is a day that will forever be remembered by those alive to witness it. It is a day for the record and history books. The past 8 years have been trying times for our nation. We've suffered attacks on our soil, a war, economic times worthy of the 'depression' label, and more than anything we've suffered from a huge lack of confidence in our own abilities - we've lacked hope. In the past week I have had two separate conversations in which both people said 'it's never been this bad before and we just can't recover' ‘we’ll never be the same again’. I was astounded to hear this. My response you ask? 'Well not with that attitude we won't!' We've gotten so down on ourselves during this administration...
I won't waste my time blaming Bush because I don't believe that one person could be wholly responsible for the downturn of our country. Sure he has lacked common sense, the vocabulary any leader should posses, and the ability to inspire our nation - but we need to take responsibility for our own actions. He didn't sign on a mortgage he couldn't afford. He didn't force you to use your credit card to buy things you didn’t need. It's time for us to stand up for what we believe in, fix our mistakes, and put our faith back into this country.
During this never ending campaign I was truly awed by Barack Obama. Mostly because of his ability to inspire, especially the youth of this country, and call us all to action. Yes we are facing incredibly difficult times, but this is America after all, we've been down before, but don't ever count us out.
“Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin again the work of remaking America,” Obama said.
Okay, I will proceed to step down off my high horse and leave you with a blog I wrote after Election Day...
It doesn't matter which side of the fence you landed on, yesterday was inspiring. It is taking some time for it to settle in for me, but as it does I am swelling with pride, pride in the fact that our process works. In that we have had our opportunity to weigh in and a decision has been made. That united we stand in this decision and that there is hope for our struggling nation. Both men gave beautiful speeches last night. Although I voted for Barack Obama, I felt that McCain's speech was thoughtful and his message was one of strength and togetherness. I truly respect the way he handled himself last night. Last night, more than ever before, I felt a part of something important in our country. It is a defined turning point in our core culture as Americans. Instead of continuing to butt heads and fight, perhaps we can go forward together in repairing the damage our country has suffered over the past eight years, and many more before that. This is a milestone. I have truly been moved by our leadership, and that I can tell you, is a first.
