Oprah was right when she said, "You know, I am so tired. I'm tired of politics as usual. What we need is, we need a new way of doing business in Washington, D.C., and in the world."
I couldn’t agree more.
I don’t know about you, but I am sick and tired of feeling helpless, unable to stop our government from wasting our resources, waging an unnecessary war, trashing our Constitution, and destroying our environment. What kind of country suspends habeus corpus, tortures prisoners, and pardons corrupt politicians? Not my country. Not the United States of America.
As the saying goes: If you aren’t angry, you aren’t paying attention.
We can’t afford to keep doing the same thing in the same way because we have too much to lose. I actually sat down and cried when I heard our country was invading Iraq – I had never felt so ashamed to be an American and so powerless. My friends and I had written letters and attended protests, but our government responded by calling us unpatriotic and un-American. Our pleas fell on deaf ears. Even the most intelligent and articulate among us were ignored, so how could ordinary citizens expect to be taken seriously?
It’s no wonder we’re tempted to resign ourselves to inaction and apathy. “There’s nothing we can do.” “That’s just the way it is.” “Nobody cares.” “No one will listen.” “Corporations have all the power; they control everything, so what can we do?” Our government has encouraged us to think and feel this way. We have been inspired to fear and hate…and resign ourselves to the status quo.
If we have no faith in ourselves or our country, how can we expect to accomplish anything? What would it take to restore our confidence?
Ethics Reform
Barack Obama has been a leader in demanding a more honest and accessible government. He has worked hard on ethics reform legislation for a very good reason: he knows our country needs the support of all its citizens to be successful. He is motivated by integrity and honesty, but he is also practical.
Fortunately, Barack Obama has not been a Washington insider long enough to benefit from a system of favors and special connections, so he has no vested interest in maintaining the status quo. This distinguishes him from the more "experienced" politicians who have everything to lose if the system they know and love were to change. I wonder, why would anyone trust Hillary Clinton to reform a system she has spent years learning how to manipulate and control? It would not be in her best interest to change the system. It works for her. It just doesn't work for the American people.
Our current (and previous) administration has done nothing to encourage ordinary citizens to get more involved. Secret meetings, classified documents, obfuscation and distractions in the media: how can anyone feel confident enough to act when we are drowning in misinformation and uncertainty? We need greater transparency and accountability in our government so we can be empowered by the availability of good information and the reassurance that our efforts will not be a waste of time. Barack Obama understands this and knows what changes need to be made.
If we want to see substantial reforms in the way our government works, we need to elect the one candidate who has consistently asked people to stand up and participate: Barack Obama.
Participation
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." – Margaret Mead
I have always loved this quote by Margaret Mead because it inspires hope and encourages people who are doubtful to believe they can make a difference. I think Barack Obama offers us a similar type of inspiration.
Obama has worked hard as a community organizer; he knows how to build support from the grassroots level up and has nothing to gain from maintaining a system of government which benefits only the privileged and the powerful. I believe this is precisely the kind of experience we need in our next President.
If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes an entire country – informed and engaged – to address the serious problems we’re facing nationally and internationally. We need a leader who will stand for hope and justice and community, someone who can organize people to work together for change. One person working alone – no matter how hard he or she works - cannot bring about the changes our country needs. We’ve had enough “maverick” leadership to see it isn’t what we want for our nation. We need a leader who knows how to build consensus and unite people around a common cause.
That’s why I believe Barack Obama is the best candidate. He can build widespread support and encourage active involvement in solving our problems. We need his leadership.
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