My 2 Political Cents

The problem we face (yet again), is that we have chosen for ourselves an intellectual. A man who, although more charismatic, attractive, and comfortable in the spotlight than Al Gore or even John Kerry was, also has a sentence structure, vocabulary, and air that turns-off half of this country.
 
The experiment called America was started by a small group of men with similar qualities. A group of men who looked around and said we could be different; we could rise above all this nonsense and make something exceptional. That we find ourselves today moving backwards is embarrassing -- that half of the country finds this acceptable, is shameful.
 
Perhaps the most painful part of our current predicament is not that we're here, but that we seem unable, or more accurately, unwilling to change. Conservatives (I use the term conservative, and NOT Republican because should the Abraham Lincoln's and Ulysses S. Grant's have a say in the matter, they would have stripped the modern Republican of the once prestigious title), are the minority in this country. The problem is that they are also the louder, angrier, more mobile, and strategic minority. If every liberal/democrat/left wing voter in this country actually went out to vote, I very much doubt we would ever have a "Republican" president. However, the sad truth is, that we don't come out en force the way our counterparts do. We have a harder time inspiring our youth, making them understand that no matter what jaded and cynical ideas they might have, their vote DOES make a difference. Part of this has to do with religion. Religion is a wonderful and powerful tool that the Conservatives have mastered. Part of this has to do with fear of the unknown and the lack of, and static nature of our education system. Part of this, I'm sure, also has to do with our youth as a nation -- we tend to forget that most countries have hundreds of years of experience on us.
 
At some point in our history, comfort became more important than what made this country great: bravery. It was brave to cut ourselves off from England. It was brave to enter a civil war over slavery. It was brave to industrialize. It was brave to go to two world wars. It was brave to fight for women's rights and equality for every person regardless of race… 
 
We can no longer afford to be nostalgic. We can no longer yearn for the good old days – they were a myth.
 
9/11 just passed. It will be remembered as the day in modern history when the world changed for the worst. The question each of us has to ponder is: is our world better yet?
No? Why?
Is it because Gay men and woman are allowed to get married? Is it because a 19 year old rape victim is allowed to have an abortion? Is it because every library in this country circulates the Harry Potter series? Is it because we conduct experiments to better understand the world around us and inside us? Or is it because we're killing our planet, our children aren't educated, we can't get a job, we can't afford health care, and terrorism is still a threat?
 
Can Obama fix all of this? No way. Can he clear even a small path for us? Yes.
We liberals, democrats, and frustrated people understand all of this. We don't need to be convinced. And, people who have their minds made up are seldom able to change their choices. Convincing someone who thinks that McCain & Palin can make them happy, is a person I'm not I can sway. So my job, my personal goal, is to make sure that every person I know votes. That my god-sister at her freshman year of college votes, and that every person she knows votes as well. Because if every person in this country voted, we wouldn't have to be afraid of children not graduating, the loss of rainforest's, or how to afford prescriptions – we wouldn't panic about our problems, we'd be solving them.