Hope

Today everyone seems full of hope. I am full of hope too.

I am full of hope that, as my friend Delric predicts, that Obama will feel himself compelled to be a centrist president and mitigate the far liberal and socialist viewpoints that his voting record suggests he espouses.

I am full of hope that the things that he will be most liberal on are the things that most of America, I think, wants or at least wants to stop discussing. Things like same-sex marriage and other personal freedoms.

I am full of hope that he will recognize that he is in a long-term war, a war not started by the United States, but by an ideology that has long recognized that freedom of speech, freedom of religion, equality between the sexes, human rights, and democracy prevent that ideology from achieving its goals. That ideology is fundamentalism, whether it’s Christian or Muslim or pseudo-scientific theories that have reached such ideological status despite the lack of or the twisting of the actual evidence.

I am full of hope that Obama will handle the challenges of inimical foreign powers well, challenges that even Biden explicitly said will begin happening within six months of Obama’s inauguration, unlike the person that Obama is most often compared to, Kennedy.

I am full of hope that Obama will emulate one of Kennedy’s best decisions, a strong commitment to space exploration.

I am full of hope that Obama will realize that there are no easy answers when it comes to producing energy and that our entire civilization is dependent upon reliable energy. I further hope that he will recognize that current plans for clean, renewable energy, which we all want more of, often have serious and major unintended consequences and find new ways around those problems.

I am full of hope that my Democratic friends, who are good people and generally centrist, will not find their find their vision corrupted by a person whose track record seems radically different from theirs, despite both being called Democrats.

I am full of hope that Obama fulfills all of his campaign promises, even if they do not always fit the traditional liberal viewpoint, such as his vow to protect the Second Amendment.

I am full of hope that I was wrong and that history will prove me as being wrong.

I am full of hope that the hope wafting in the air will bring good things.

I am full of hope that Obama will be remembered in America as a great President and I will work to help as best I can.

Today, I am full of hope, because hope is all Obama has ever shown me.

16 thoughts on “Hope”

  1. Very Powerful

    Rhodri my friend,
    Thank you for this post. As a Canadian who looks to the south, I have a difficult time with understanding US politics. The way that politician there seem like celebrities, rather than lawyers and business people. The way that there seem to only be two choices rather than four or more, as I had on my ballot in the recent Canadian election. And most of all the passion shown by the proponents of both sides. Canadian politics rarely elicits anything like the level of emotion I saw from Americans in this election. My hopes too are with you and all my American friends

    Angus Albani

    1. some details… Re: Very Powerful

      There were 8 choices for president/VP on my ballot in Ohio.

      According to the results posted for my county at 10 am this morning with about two thirds of the votes counted, every one of the candidates had at least 70 votes, five had less than 1,000 including Bob Barr the Libertarian. Nadar has around 1,000 votes; McCain around 70,000. Obama was the only one with well more than 100,000.

      It can be difficult to hear what the media isn’t saying.

        1. Ohio

          Reminds me a lot of St. Louis: age & state of repair of the architecture, large parks, anything over 4 stories being a tall building, trees and gardens. So far only one person has complained at us about losing out to St. Louis for getting the Bowling Hall of Fame.

          So far it’s been pretty good.

    1. Thanks. It will be an interesting ride the next few years. Here’s also hoping that is not “interesting” in the Chinese curse sense of the word πŸ™‚

      1. I don’t envy the job he has in front of him. So many issues screaming for his attention – hard to imagine that anyone, no matter how talented, could get that mess under control.

        Still. I would have voted for him. Powerful orator, if nothing else.

        1. I am very much afraid that people voted for his silver tongue and mocha skin and are going to be sorely disappointed when he turns out to be a politician just like everybody else.

          1. Yes, I suspect he will turn out to be Yet Another Politician, but he’s certainly the most charismatic and inspiring that I’ve seen in a while.

            I wouldn’t have voted for the colour of his skin. He can either do the job, or not – regardless of the colour of his skin. His silver tongue… well, not everyone is that well-spoken, even politicians. I guess, in the end, we’ll see.

  2. I went in to cast my ballot.

    Pages two through four were easy, so I went through those then came back to page 1.

    President.

    I tried to lean on the little plastic blinder while mulling the choice, and nearly broke the whole damned thing.

    After a few minutes, I remembered the state I live in was bought and sold long before I paid for franchise.

    Pushing “Other” after the list of prepared write-in candidates I got a little touch-pad keyboard.

    N-O C-O-N-F-I-D-E-N-C-E

  3. I so very much agree….

    This pretty much said it all for me as well…
    I’m concerned about his record.
    I’m concerned about his trials to come and his ability to handle them.
    I understand he’s a good speaker… and that’s great. Americans love to be entertained. But words and promises mean very little to me.
    I guess that’s the difference between an optimist and a pessimist… You are full of hope, I’m “concerned”.
    πŸ™‚

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.