In 1968 I was 14 and I watched in horror as Bobby Kennedy our hope for the future of the country was murdered after the California primary. Four years later I was 18 and going door to door for Senator McGovern, I knew he was going to win the election, my mother said that he wouldn't win but we should campaign anyway...but I knew he would win...the alternative was unthinkable...another four years of Nixon, surely the American public could see that he was a crook, surely they were at least as smart as me who had just a few months earlier graduated from Cottage Grove High School. Couldn't the people see what he was doing to this country? Couldn't they see every night on the evening news the body count from the 'conflict' in VietNam? Even as the poles on the east coast closed I clung to the hope that the American people would have as much sense as this 18 year old.
Every year I held out hope that the right person would win and every year I was disapointed. Jimmy Carter, whom I now respect won, but he was a Christian, one of those people who at that time I thought were lacking common sense. In 92 Clinton won and I was happy I have pictures of my then 1year old daughter in front of the TV with Bill Clinton's baby pictures on the screen. But hope? Maybe a little.
Even in 2000 and 2004 I held out hope that Bush would not win. He didn't really but no one seemed to care no one was willing to fight for what was right and for the rights of the American people. I wept as I watched my country and my religion hi-jacked.
Some call me cynical. I knew Bush knew about 9/11 before it happened, my family and friends thought I was nuts.
Yet this year as the election drew near I had hope. Hope for a future for this country. Hope that all the evil done in our name and in the name of my god would be made right. I have to admit that my first choice was Kucinich, but when Obama was the candidate I got behind him. I spoke with people who were so afraid that someone else would win, and I asked how is it possible that someone else could win surely the American people could see? The cynic bringing hope to the more positive people....
The day after the election I went shopping and there were more people in the stores than I had seen for a while. In Costo I ran across a hispanic family 2 teens a preteen and 2 parents. I understood very little of what they were talking about...but I saw the smiles and I heard the name Obama!
Am I looking to a person to fix the world? No, I am looking for a people who have hope, who can see that business as usual doesn't work. People who put their trust in their God and walk in the way of peace and justice. Who put their faith into action to quote Bono Get up off their knees. As a Christian I follow the way of Christ. I believe in the sermon on the mount.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the realm of heaven
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted,
Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy
Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.
So what does hope look like? Today it looks like the tears running down the faces of the people who sang One Love, American Pie, In the name of Love and America the Beautiful at the Lincoln Memorial. It looks like the people who have held out hope for so many years that our country would be returned to us. It looks like the face of the child who is not a white protestant male and realizes that they too can become president. Yes WE Can!!
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