Sunday, November 9, 2008
Moving day
I'm sitting on the bed in the guest room while 3 strangers pack my stuff. It's a strange and surreal feeling. It's crazy the amount of stuff they've gotten done already in 4 hours. I got pretty emotional about it at first. I mean, this is it...I'm leaving Colorado. When did that happen??? It seemed like it was this thing that was going to happen...someday...in a few months. And now "in a few months" has arrived. They're packing today and loading tomorrow and then I drive out on Wednesday. As excited as I've been about this change and opportunity, I'm so sad to be leaving Colorado and especially all the amazing people who have been part of my life here. I'm going to miss them. I'm planning to visit as often as possible. For now, I'll sit here, with my snoring dog by my side and try to keep myself busy while the strangers keep packing.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Hope! Love! Rejoice!
I haven't made a secret of the fact that I supported Barack Obama in this election. He wasn't my first choice for a candidate, but when it boiled down to McCain and Obama and then McCain picked Palin, my choice got a lot easier. Now, let me be clear and say that I read a lot of things, did a lot of research, looked at each of their platforms and made a decision according to who I felt most represented my viewpoint. And once I picked my candidate, I got pretty excited about it. For me, this was the first election in a long time...maybe ever...that I was truly excited about my candidate instead of voting for "the least of two evils" or against a particular candidate. This was a vote cast for someone who I truly believe is the best person to lead our country. That said, I completely respect the fact that others, many of them much more intelligent than I, disagree with me and think I've made the wrong decision. That's ok. We don't have to agree.
This morning I awoke with a sense of jubilation. The idea that there's something to look forward to and that maybe, just maybe, the massive mistakes I think have been made in the last 8 years can somehow be remedied, even if just in a small way. So, when I was faced today with comments from many who disagree with my politics that were disappointed, upset and sometimes downright hateful, I was disheartend, to say the least. Now I realize that some level of disappointment naturally comes along with the deal when your candidate doesn't win. I know I'd be extremely sad today if Obama was on the losing end. So, I realize that jubilation is a little much to expect. But I think I hoped for a little less in the way of dramatics. I realize that it's easy for me to say, since I voted for the winner, but I would hope that if the situation were reversed, I'd be gracious to those who voted differently than I and that I would then turn my energy to hoping and praying that the President-elect would be able to lead our country in a wise, humble and effective way. Now, I tend to have some strong opinions, so I'm not saying I'd do that perfectly, but I really hope I wouldn't be as fearful, hateful and despairing as some I'm hearing.
So, here's what I'm proposing. Let's hope instead of fear. Hope that President-elect Obama can do even part of what he's promised, hope that our situation in the USA and in the world is better in 4 years than it is now. Let's love instead of hate. Love the friends who disagreed with us, sometimes with hateful words and disparaging personal attacks, love the people who support positions and ideas that we strongly oppose. This is the only way we can move toward any unity in this country. Hate only produces more hate. And let's rejoice instead of despair. Rejoice in the knowledge that God is in control, regardless of who the President is. Rejoice because whether or not he was your choice, we've reached the point in this country when an African-Amercian win the Presidential election. Rejoice because so many people who normally feel apathetic and disenfranchised now feel like they have a voice. There are many reasons to rejoice if we will just look for them.
After all, wouldn't you rather hope, love and rejoice? It's a lot more fun than fear, hate and despair any day.
This morning I awoke with a sense of jubilation. The idea that there's something to look forward to and that maybe, just maybe, the massive mistakes I think have been made in the last 8 years can somehow be remedied, even if just in a small way. So, when I was faced today with comments from many who disagree with my politics that were disappointed, upset and sometimes downright hateful, I was disheartend, to say the least. Now I realize that some level of disappointment naturally comes along with the deal when your candidate doesn't win. I know I'd be extremely sad today if Obama was on the losing end. So, I realize that jubilation is a little much to expect. But I think I hoped for a little less in the way of dramatics. I realize that it's easy for me to say, since I voted for the winner, but I would hope that if the situation were reversed, I'd be gracious to those who voted differently than I and that I would then turn my energy to hoping and praying that the President-elect would be able to lead our country in a wise, humble and effective way. Now, I tend to have some strong opinions, so I'm not saying I'd do that perfectly, but I really hope I wouldn't be as fearful, hateful and despairing as some I'm hearing.
So, here's what I'm proposing. Let's hope instead of fear. Hope that President-elect Obama can do even part of what he's promised, hope that our situation in the USA and in the world is better in 4 years than it is now. Let's love instead of hate. Love the friends who disagreed with us, sometimes with hateful words and disparaging personal attacks, love the people who support positions and ideas that we strongly oppose. This is the only way we can move toward any unity in this country. Hate only produces more hate. And let's rejoice instead of despair. Rejoice in the knowledge that God is in control, regardless of who the President is. Rejoice because whether or not he was your choice, we've reached the point in this country when an African-Amercian win the Presidential election. Rejoice because so many people who normally feel apathetic and disenfranchised now feel like they have a voice. There are many reasons to rejoice if we will just look for them.
After all, wouldn't you rather hope, love and rejoice? It's a lot more fun than fear, hate and despair any day.
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