I've been thinking lots about Truth this campaign. Some very important people have asked "What is Truth?" and I am sure that I don't have that answer. But Truth seems to be the one factor that goes out the window when campaigns begin. With Truth goes Trust. Without Trust enters Cynicism, and with Cynicism comes Apathy. With Apathy comes Greed, Graft, and Irresponsibility in the place of Accountability, Patriotism, and Social Conscience.
It seems to me that this is the path America has gone down. Americans have been lied to by politicians for so many years, in so many important ways that Cynicism and Apathy have entered the American consciousness and Conviction, Conscience, Social Responsibility and true Patriotism have been harder and harder to find. We were lied to by Nixon. We were lied to by politicians during the Savings and Loan scandal, we were lied to by a number of politicians now cooling their heels in prison (some pardoned), we were lied to by more than one President and some cabinet members as well.
Why should the American people believe anymore? I guess the answer is that if we don't learn how to trust again, the country will not survive as it was formed. Democracy will suffer, and with it the common citizen will suffer, and when that happens to America, it happens to the world. I do not subscribe to the sentiment that the USA is the center of the world, and the ruler of the world, but I do know that everything that happens in America has a ripple effect in the world (in fact, that is true for every country and every one of us). If we fail, democracy fails.
Why should we hope and dream and trust? Because we have no choice, we must find a star to grab hold of, and we must work to make our beliefs come true. In a way, we must help to create hope by being willing to examine each statement for truth. Once proven, we must then put our hearts into the work that needs done to spread that Truth and Hope all around us to the best of our abillity. We must hold each of our elected officials accountable to Truth to rebuild Trust and Hope in our country, to move forward to claim our birthright and the birthright of our children and our children's children.
Barack Obama has asked us to Hope and to Believe. Not just in him, but in our OWN ability to bring about change in Washington and in the world. It is a call I have not heard for some 48 years, and I think it is a call the young people of this nation have been waiting for. If you are part of the younger generation, I am putting my hopes on you. Think about the future, about your friends and family, and about your country and your place in it. Then act.
This blog tonight isn't about partisan politics, and it really isn't even about Senator Obama. It is about our country and our values and our survival as a democratic Republic, about the values of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It is the most wonderful country in the world, and has created and achieved amazing things in the short time it has existed as a government. Let us not be too cynical and apathetic to demand Truth, and to hold our government accountable. Stand up and be counted. Be the change!!
VOTE FOR TRUTH! VOTE FOR HOPE!! VOTE FOR CHANGE!! VOTE FOR OBAMA!!!
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