Hope

Since I was 8 years old, I have been ashamed of my president and my country. It doesn't feel natural that I have so few patriotic moments in my young childhood memory. The harm that President Bush has brought to the face of our nation is not permanent, rather a severe scar.  As we, a nation of democratic voters, proved yesterday, and hopefully will continue to do so in the coming months, we are a great nation. A nation that is capable of change, one that with grace and fluidity can alter its course of action. 

I am not the only person who has a rekindled faith in the future of America. All across this world of nations, people are celebrating a monumental step, a both symbolic and very, very real acceptance of change and healing. From Madrid, to Kenya, to Japan people rejoice in the American voice.  The adjustment from the countenance of President George Bush, to the visage of  President elect Barack Obama will distinctly revolutionize international affairs for the United States. Bush represented for so many the stereotyped american and most unfortunate of politicians. People are associated with their leaders, the man (or woman) who they have chosen to represent them to the world. Obama, I am positive, is a healthier choice for our nation to be judged by at this time.   

Desperately I hope that my belief in him as a strong person of  good morals and undying love for his family and his nation, are truthful and valid beliefs.   Obama is a president to all, he is a man that will unite and bring reform to our nation of turmoil. I see the next year through an  optimistic, hopeful lens. I see a year of hard work, lacking in instant gratification, but fruitfully abundant with the healthy tears of healing. In my life today, I have already witnessed the breaking down of prejudice in a small community and the blossoming of new awareness, the careful examining of tolerance, and better, understanding.

This election has not just given our nation a new president but a new perspective.

xoxo hEn