In Anticipation

Today, I am giving my blog space to my husband. He's not a "blogger" as a rule, but today he wrote this, shared it with me, and gave me permission to post it. We are both very excited for Tuesday, but Ed captured the essence of it so well that I just had to publish it! A little longer than my typical musings but quite meaninful.

In Anticipation - January 18, 2009

It is Sunday, prior to the inauguration of our next president, Barak Obama. I am sitting by the fire listening to the national concert being held in DC today and am somewhat in awe. I am turning 55 next month and although I have voted in every presidential election since I have been able to vote, and have even worked in calling campaigns for presidential candidates prior to this year, I can truly say that even though my choice often was the winner of the election, I have never been this moved with anticipation by an inauguration until this moment.

I began following President Obama after I heard him deliver one of the keynote speeches at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. I remember sitting transfixed, by the speech and the speaker. I had not anticipated even listening to the entire speech as I had never heard of this young would-be senator from Illinois. As he spoke, he drew me in with both his message and delivery. I cannot, today, even remember the exact content, but I do remember saying at the time that his message conveyed the theme of what public service in the U.S. should be as it reflected an attitude of what I would simply characterize as,what I had been taught was America.

In my view, at the time America had become a bit of an international and domestic bully; not just because of the war in Iraq, although that was, for me, the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back, but because of an ongoing and growing projected attitude in a number of areas in which America seemed to be using its power to act in hegemonic, unilateral ways in the international arena to push others to acquiesce to our will. Domestically, American leaders, and many good individuals, appeared more interested in the private, and by extension the collective, good that a growing economy could accomplish. There seemed to be a growing sentiment that if you were not able to, in some way, contribute to economic growth through personal investment, you were so much of a drain on our society. And, in the face of a “growing “ economy we saw cuts to domestic programs which had been designed to assist the less fortunate. There was a growing intolerance of ideas that were not in accordance with this party line and there appeared to be a growing attitude of nationalistic and, to some degree, spiritual fundamentalism. So for the first time, I began to look carefully at decisions made by political leaders. Exactly who was voting for what and under what circumstances. I began listening to political rhetoric from the perspective of one who was choosing to be an active participant rather than one who was simply a political subject of a particular party and party ideology. I also began reading, almost feverishly, books written by our political leaders expressing their views on our constitutional principles and on what it meant to be a U.S. leader and citizen.

One of the people I followed was Mr. Obama. Just after 2004 and well before all of the primary candidates from all of the parties had been rolled out, I had determined that I could not in good conscience vote for a candidate who represented the Grand Old Party. And while I did not agree with all of the stances of the Democratic party, I had come to recognize that the majority of my personal beliefs about government , economics and a good number of social issues lined up much more closely with the agenda of that party. Initially, however, my choice for president was not Barak Obama. I liked much of what he stood for, but I felt that there were others with whom I was more closely in agreement. By the time, the primary came down to Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton, though, I had decided to support Sen. Obama. By that time I had read much more from him and about him and I came out a true supporter.

That does not mean I will agree with 100% of his decisions, but I feel that for this unique time under these special circumstances ,American has boldly chosen a true leader, a man who will set a new tone for the United States. I believe that in Barak Obama we have a president who will listen to all sides which are actively seeking to make America a better place, which are intent on improving and protecting the common good, and which are willing to use a spirit of reason and rule of law to accomplish their goals.

Yes, I am anxiously awaiting Tuesday, I believe America is anxiously awaiting, and I believe that the world is anxiously awaiting Tuesday. There is a window of opportunity here because of the conditions of the times, the president, the American people’s excitement and the world’s expectations for great things to be accomplished. These may not be measured in specific deeds right away but first may come an attitude shift and then, who knows?

So, back to my initial musings as I was listening to the national concert. Usually, when we view huge numbers of people congregating in a national capitol as we see today and expect on Tuesday, it is for some sort of demonstration of protest. Today, as I listen to the concert in DC in anticipation of Barak Obama’s inauguration, there are 100’s of thousands gathering not to protest but to celebrate, and not just to celebrate a man and a party victory but to ,I believe, celebrate a potential, a new beginning, a new opportunity, to celebrate what America at its best can be. What a spectacle to view, especially for the rest of the world. America is not some fading giant but is still a leader and if we follow our new president’s lead, America can be such a leader as the world has never yet seen. Yes, I am anxiously awaiting Tuesday.