Hope and gratitude

I finally have a day off after the insanity of the past week. I’ll write about manga later (no, really), and I’ll be catching up on everyone else’s blogs too. But for the moment, I offer this.

It’s an old video, I know, and everyone saw it months ago. But I watched it again this morning, and ended up with tears pouring down my face.

I thought about apologizing for making such a blatantly partisan statement here, but then I remembered two things: 1) Hey wait, this is my blog! 2) It’s not actually a partisan statement. My support of Barack Obama has very little to do with party politics. I support him because I believe he has the intellect, the vision, the compassion, and the fortitude to be a truly great leader, and that he is the greatest hope we have for healing this broken nation.

I know that he will make decisions I won’t agree with sometimes, maybe often, but even in those moments I will feel confident that his decisions are being made out of serious and thoughtful deliberation, and with the welfare of this country’s citizens (and citizens of the world) uppermost in his mind. Past presidential candidates have shared many of my views and values, or at least as many as Obama does, but I have never, in my history as an eligible voter, been given the opportunity to cast a vote in a presidential election for a candidate I truly believed in until now. Today I will be proud to cast my vote for Barack Obama.

If you are able to vote today for a candidate you truly believe in, I am very happy for you, no matter which candidate that is. If you are not, I hope that someday you will be, because it really is an incredible experience. Today I feel truly excited and grateful to be able to participate in my democracy. I wish the same for all of you.

One comment thread

  1. jai
    #1

    Amen to that. It’s a humbling and exhilarating to feel as though you’re taking part in something truly historical, and being part of a real movement that is far bigger than you, or even the things within the circle of your everyday life. I don’t think it’s something our generation has experienced yet. I think history will look back on this time as a very pivotal moment in our nation’s story.

    Reply

    Melinda Beasi Reply:

    Yes, I think you’re exactly right!

    Reply

    jansong@livejournal.com Reply:

    No wait for us at 10:30 at our polling spot. Hope yours has gone/will be smooth, too. I can’t remember ever feeling so excited about casting my vote either, and I’ve voted quite a lot of elections.

    Reply

    Melinda Beasi Reply:

    I’m waiting until Paul gets up so the animals won’t drive him crazy while I’m gone. But I expect there won’t be a line at our spot either. I guess I’ll see!

    Reply

    Melinda Beasi Reply:

    Update: No lines at Precinct A. :) Voting was *very* fast. And they are always so nice there.

    Reply

    jansong@livejournal.com Reply:

    We have a nice town for voting.

    Reply

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