Dear Lauren and Liam,
Although you aren’t aware of it, this is a very important time in the history of your country. Right now, Lauren, you’re more concerned with reading your latest library books, and asking when the next Girl Scout meeting will be. You’re still on a sugar high from all the Halloween candy, and already excited about Christmas. You’ve been thinking of toys for your Christmas list for weeks, though it’s only November 2nd. And Liam, you’re too busy trying to get into your sister’s things, and bringing me Wiggles videos to play for you. You’re curious about everything around you: bugs, boxes full of interesting things, birds and airplanes and choo-choo trains. You have no idea that the world around you is changing.
But changing it is. Right now, the American economy is on the brink of a disaster of proportions not seen since the Great Depression. The housing market is collapsing, the stock market seems to drop a few hundred more points each trading day, and people are losing their jobs. I survived a round of layoffs at my company; others weren’t so lucky. And the economy isn’t the only problem, though it has become first on people’s minds.
We are embroiled in two wars overseas. We are dependent on foreign oil. We have lost our standing in the world as the “shining city on a hill” as a president so eloquently put it before you were born.
We are at a crossroads. We are choosing a new president to lead us. In this time of upheaval, our nation is divided on who that president should be. Some believe it should be a man who has been in Washington a very long time. Who has military experience, and who subscribes to the same ideals and policy stances as the president who has been in power for the last 8 years.
But I believe differently. I believe a new face, one who has been in Washington for only a few years, who is making history with his candidacy, and who has inspired hundreds of thousands of young people to vote for the first time, is the man for the job. I came to this decision several months ago, when I began examining the policy positions of the numerous candidates for the presidency. Time after time, my ideas lined up with those of a man named Barack Obama – a man whom I knew little about. I had heard he made a splash at the last Democratic National Convention, and that he was considered a rising star in the Democratic Party, but I had not paid much attention. Then, as I read more about him, I became sure that this was the man I would support for the presidency.
I have been more involved in politics during this campaign than ever before in my life. I’ve donated money, made phone calls to strangers, and argued for hours with anonymous people on the internet about why I believe Barack Obama should be our next president.
Over the months, I’ve explained my thoughts again and again, and I will explain them here to you below. But I wanted you to know, Lauren and Liam, that the real reason I support Barack Obama, when you boil it all down to the essence of the thing, is you. I want a better world for you. I want a safer world for you. I want you to grow up to be as proud of America as I am. And I believe that voting for Barack Obama is one of the important things I can do to help achieve this dream I have for you. I may be wrong, but I don’t believe I am. I may be naïve, but I’d rather vote out of hope than out of fear. Whatever happens, I want you to know that I love you both with all my heart and all my soul.
Love,Mommy
1) I agree with him on most of his policy positions, including health care, abortion, repealing tax cuts for the highest-paid Americans, illegal immigration, the war in Iraq, and refocusing on al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
2) I believe that his work as a community organizer and the fact that he went to work as a civil rights attorney after law school, when he could have gone for big money as a corporate lawyer, shows that he places importance on his personal principles. I respect those decisions, and I respect his intelligence.
3) He showed good judgment in opposing the Iraq War. Of course, since he wasn't in the Senate at the time, it's hard to say how he would have voted, but I respect that he spoke up with an (at the time) unpopular opinion.
4) He supports PAYGO, which is a crucial first step in fixing the fiscal mess we're in, IMO.
Those are the "hard" reasons I support him. Here are the "soft" reasons:
1) He is an inspirational speaker and brings a positive message. It makes me hopeful. I believe that a leader who can inspire is a leader who can get folks working together towards a common goal and get things done.
2) He expects people to work together to bring about the change we seek.
3) He has run a very smart, very well-organized campaign. To date, it has been a very successful campaign. IMO, that is an example of good leadership.
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