Monday, January 19, 2009

What's your hope?

As a country, we are poised on the edge of hope, curiosity, and fear. Many of us believe, fervently, that tomorrow signals a profound change in America. Will Obama be compared to Hoover or FDR when the financial crisis has been dealt with? Will we see our country continue to be obsessed with culture wars that pit artificially drawn differences against one another, or will we see a true spirit of unity?

The Neighborhood Inauguration Balls  seem like a new way of doing things. And there are other signs. The day of service  that he and his family are participating in are another sign that the focus of this administration is going to move to a new beat. His background as a community organizer certainly means he has a different perspective. And he is young enough not to owe too much to too many people.

So tell me, what's the hope that tomorrow inspires in you?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The main hope is that the cynicism and spite of American society begin to fade. It is easier to knock down other ideas rather than seek ways to cooperate. He can be the leading voice to help Americans to realize the value of working together and that there are more important goals for the country and for this society than taking pot shots at the other party, the other race, the other orientation, the other religion. The man's inauguration address was dead on...an attempt to end the rancor and cynicism and inspire us to cooperate, sacrifice, and think once again of the common good.
There is that nice scene at the end of "The American President" when Michael Douglas addresses the politics of fear and anger, a fictional moment that spoke well for the masses tired of all the venom and false emotions that had become the usual way of doing business. If all Obama manages to do in this opening year is dismiss that method of doing business, he will have brought us a very long way indeed. "Time to put away childish things" is right indeed.

Unknown said...

I like that as a hope. Thanks for sharing! I got an email shortly after the election which talked about the change largely resulting from an America that believes the parties are far more interested in solidifying their power base than working towards the best interest of the country and the American people. It rang true.

Anonymous said...

New to the blog world. Any advice on how I subscribe to this or any other blog? Took me half an hour to find this page now :(

Unknown said...

Brendan,

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