One Year Later
As much as I was hoping to avoid doing this here we go…
One year ago today I was trying to fully grasp what had just happened. The day before I along with thousands of others helped elect our country’s first black president. A man who built his campaign on the promises of change and hope rather than fear. I am not sure that I will ever again be a part of something with the kind of energy I experienced last fall during the post election march back and forth down State St. Several thousand students chanting USA and singing the national anthem. The crowd was charged up with something new; hope and optimism.
I think the best analogy for my feelings a year ago is like picking up a new book at the bookstore. The cover was a picture of a beaming handsome man with a beautiful wife and two smiling children. There was a glow that jumped off the cover and warmed the soul. In my short 22 years on the earth I had never seen such youth, energy, and charisma in a political leader. The campaign was like reading the back cover and the inside flaps. I liked what I was reading. Enough to take the chance and dive in. The year that followed has contained the opening chapters. I want more.
President Obama has been criticized by the left, the right, and everyone in between. Some it has been fair and some has been ludicrous. He entered office with two wars, an economy on the respirator, and the hopes of a generation on his shoulders. We sent him to office with massive Democratic majorities. I think it is fair to say that expectations were high, higher than any President could reasonably expect to fulfill.
Where are we now? His term so far has not been without accomplishments but many Democrats and liberals have this feeling of unease. Washington looks much the same as it always has. We have heard the ideas before. It seems as though the “Audacity of Hope” has been replaced by something else. The soaring language is still there but the actions have not measured up.
At his acceptance speech of the Democratic nomination then Senator Obama said: “the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result.” To that I say… Yeup… What we have seen over the past year are fresh ideas clashing with entrenched power. Our congress lacks the capacity to take risks and dream big. They cower in fear of losing their next election. They desperately cling to their power, defending the status quo seeping out just enough change to keep the people happy.
The next generation will not remember the “Blue Dog Democrats” or the “Teabaggers” because they have done nothing of any real merit. Our halls of power are filled with people who push the same old policies with new names. President Obama I ask you to remember why we gave you the country to care and watch over. We believed in you last November and we still do. Make us proud. Stand up to those who are afraid to change. They may call you a socialist now but history will remember you as the man who changed the game… maybe. It is not too late.
Our country is hurting. We are laboring under the shackles of extreme partisanship and vicious lies. We are not afraid to hear the truth. Our economy is broken. The free market and capitalism in our country are broken. We need to rebuild with the regulations and enforcement in place to guarantee a fair playing field. Our healthcare system is laughable, best in world? Hardly. What good are great doctors if you can’t afford to see them. What good is best medicine if you can’t afford it? Healthcare is a right! Our environment is crying out in pain. From our dependancy on fossil fuels to industrial agriculture we are on a course that will ruin our Earth. If we don’t make drastic changes now it will be too late.
We can do better. I know it. I still believe in you. I still believe in the philosophy of yes we can. It will not be easy but there is much more at stake here than your political career. You can alter the course of the country and the world. I still have hope that my children and grandchildren will live in a better world than I do. Please, for all of us, remember why we voted for you.
The spark the burst into flame on State St. just over a year ago is still within all of us just waiting for you.
Yes we can. Yes you can! We believe!
