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04 November, 2008

There Is Hope!

Tonite, something happened that I thought would never happen in my lifetime. My heartfelt congratulations to President-Elect Barack Obama. Wow! Who would have thought it?

Maybe now we, as a country, can get back on track - to where we can truly say, in all aspects, that "I am proud to be an American"!

I want an America to be proud of. The kind of America that I was raised to believe that we were. Where we did the right thing, no matter the struggle, the cost or the effort required. As an example, I want the kind of America where the question of something as repugnant as that of waterboarding would never come up, at least in the form of an on-going national debate asking if it was a legitimate form of "interrogation" for Americans to use.

This one item symbolizes to me all the things that have gone wrong with America. Damn it, we should always be the guys wearing the white hats! Doing things the American way should always mean doing things the right and honorable way.

Maybe it is extremely naive to feel that we as a people, as a country, should always do the right thing. If so, then I think we should be naive. Doing things the American way should always mean doing things the right and honorable way. Always.

I just listened to Senator McCain give his concession speech. I like the words he said. I respect him as a war hero, and as a leader in his own right. However, I'm not sorry he lost.

I think this country, the United States of America, has elected the right person, at the right time for the job. I want an America to be proud of. I think and I hope President-elect Obama will be the person to lead us in the direction we need to go to be the America that is proud of itself, that can hold it's head high, that will do the right thing - every time, all the time.

Tonight, I am proud to be an American. That is something, that embodies an emotion and a mental state that I haven't felt for a long time. It seems good to feel and say "I'm proud to be an American".

Again, Congratulations President-Elect Barack Obama. The people, the country, and the world is expecting great things of you.

I'm sitting here now waiting for President-Elect Obama to make his speech. I mentioned the world expecting great things. Every Belizean I have talked to in the past several weeks has said, bar none, that they were hopefull that Senator Obama would win. In fact, I'm wearing my "Obama 08" teeshirt that says in big letters on the back "Belizeans for Obama/Biden". This small country, as poor as a church mouse, is as hopeful for America as any American. I have a feeling the whole world has a similar sentiment. I hope they, and we, are not disappointed.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Totally agree. It is hard to believe how eight years of ignorance has messed up the whole world. The enthusiasm I saw in this mornings newspaper from articles around the world are a sure sign of better things to come.

Anonymous said...

Problems never cease. I had to use anonymous because my password was not recognized so that is nothing new here in Pueblo.

Anonymous said...

What a historic moment!! I am so excited!!

Dave Rider said...

Isn't it just great to be living in such interesting times? It's been a long time since I've seen people so excited and fired up. This alone is worth the price of admission. Finally, it's good to be an American.
Thanks for the comments
Dave

Perry and Mischelle said...

Hi Dave and Dianna,
I was able to watch it happen. 82.9% voter turn-out in LA and here in Ventura county. That percentage is almost unheard of in our life time. I went by the polling places, and even though we have absentee voting here in California, the lines were down the block in many locations I saw. It almost reminded me of pictures of third world countries, and their long lines waiting to cast their votes.
McCain was gracious in his consession speech, and Obama gave a good acceptance speech. But what I saw and heard from the crowd is what excites me. The electricity in the crowd as they witnessed history in the making. Change is a commin'. And we are as one country. Even as Obama mentioned McCains' name in his acceptance speech, there were no boo's or name calling. As he recounted the great sacrifices that John McCain has done for his country, the crowd cheered. He is a good man, but the one we need right now, got elected. We got it right. Let's grab a Belikin or three and celebrate!!!
I'll be in town Nov 22 and look forward to meeting you. Just need a way to hook up. Is your place on the canals near Tony's?
And thanks to your blog, I have started our own blog on our adventures of trying to move from CA to Belize.
We're at http://achowinbelize.blogspot.com
Check us out and let us know what you think.