Yes We Can
February 5, 2008 at 10:46 am (Journaling) (barack, hope, obama, super tuesday, vote, yes we can)
There are people who are completely uninterested in politics. I understand. The system is foul and broken, and the ideals that started this nation are gone with the people who held them. There is a miasma of hate and fear and compassion-less dogma that infests D.C., indistinguishable from the political system itself. In the past, I have voted against more than for, and watched time and again as my votes were turned aside in the flood of opposition. The presidential races have been worse than most. Even those whose policies I might agree with do not impress me as people.
My CRIES have been ignored, unheeded by those in positions of powers. What do I want? I want peace. I want the knowledge that if I maim myself tomorrow, my financial burdens will not outweigh my need for care. I want to wake up and feel like those at the tiller won’t run us aground, won’t stand by and let the world burn in Global Warming, the deathly fires of napalm bursts, and the uncaring, dehumanizing hatred of torture. What do I want? What do I want?
I want to be proud to be an American.
I want to be PROUD to be an AMERICAN. In Taiwan, we are fat, we are loud, we are rude. Nevermind that is not necessarily the truth. It is perception, it is OUR perception as well as THEIRS. We can be arrogant, we can be patriotic. But I cannot be proud. Not now. Not with the knowledge that in my life all my moments of pride have come from historic events.
I want to be proud of my country. I want unity, and I want to never let go of hope. The future will always be brighter, if we make it so.
There is one man who seems to understand what I want. One man who has listened. One man who stands for change, for hope. Barack Obama.
My mind knows he is not perfect. I KNOW this. But now, at last, I do not care.
This is a decision from my heart and my gut. This is the man who can inspire, who can lead, who can take this nation on a strong path. I believe with all my heart that the path will be the right one. This is the passion that we need. The young and the old, the right and the left need to come TOGETHER, in unity, and we can do great things.
“We have been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope. But in the unlikely story that is America there has never been anything false about hope.”
There has never been anything false about hope. Savor that. Feel it on your tongue. Hope.
We are and can be a nation of hope, of dreams realized and new ones dreamt, of a future we can look towards with joy, and a present we can be happy in. We are a nation who has done great things, and will do great things. We are a people descended from the meek, the fleeing, the rejected of the world. We are a people who have again and again shown that in the face of adversity, we can have compassion. We are a people who have forgotten who we were, found it again, and lost it. We are Americans, and we should be proud.
Today is Super Tuesday. Today is one step on the path. Vote. If there is a primary where you live, vote. I cannot say this enough. Vote.
It needn’t be for me, or for my candidate, or for heavy strands of obligation. Vote because you hope.
Thank you.
