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Hope Verses Fear
Posted 6-15-2008
The race for the Democratic nomination for
president is finally over, and here's hoping everyone recognizes
what is at stake and all of Hillary Clinton's supporters get
behind Barack Obama. There is too much to lose if we let hard
feelings over a contested primary get in the way of the
Democratic Party regaining the White House.
If eight years of Bush-Cheney hasn't been
sobering enough, if he's elected we'll get more of the same from
John McCain. His voting record mirrors the Bush-Cheney
philosophy, and short of rhetoric about fighting global warming,
he's given no indication of bringing a different perspective of
any kind to the White House.
The talk of "experience" -- McCain's
versus Obama's -- is nothing but the other side trying to find a
reason to support someone who represents the past versus someone
who represents the future. Face it, for the first time since
JFK, we will be electing a U.S. senator with no executive branch
experience. Every president since Kennedy has either been a vice
president or a governor. While I think the legislative role and
the executive role are distinctly different, after Bush, who had
been a two-term governor of Texas, executive "experience"
doesn't seem quite as important.
This election is evolving into what I see as
hope versus fear. Barack Obama represents hope that we can do
better, hope that we can begin to face our domestic challenges
from a different perspective and truly attempt to solve them,
and hope that we can restore our respect internationally and be
the global leader that resolves disputes reasonably rather than
miring ourselves in 20th century militarism. Barack Obama also
represents hope that we as a society can begin to see ourselves
differently, as one people regardless of race, religion or
ethnicity. Perhaps most importantly, Barack Obama represents
hope that the system can work for everyone, that the economic
challenges ahead will be faced with an eye toward those truly in
need.
John McCain represents those who fear the
changing world in which live, who fear those different from them
here at home, who fear change in how we must face our domestic
challenges, and most of all, those who fear the evolving nature
of our society.
So which way will our nation go at this
crossroads of our nation's history? Will the millions of people
dissatisfied with the direction we've headed show it by voting
for change we can believe in? Or will the old fears that divide
us as a nation and that have weakened our respect in the world
keep us from moving forward in the 21st century?
One thing for sure, unlike 2000 when the media
sold voters the idea that there wasn't much difference between
Bush and Gore, this time the differences are clear for all to
see. Let's make a true change in the leadership of this nation
and elect a man who represents the future rather than one who
represents the past.
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