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My letter was printed this week, and I've had some interesting responses so far.
Many of my friends are wondering why I steadfastly support Barack Obama for president. I’m not going to start spouting misleading statements and falsities about John McCain or Sarah Palin to justify my support. I support Obama not because he isn’t John McCain, but because he is Barack Obama.
I don’t watch cable news. I don’t believe anything I read without checking sources I trust first. I can smell political propaganda, and I have grieved over the number of my dear friends who have become lost in it. I get my information from proven, responsible media outlets. I have been inundated with e-mails and notices accusing Barack Obama of ridiculous sins, and interpreting the fact that he is a black man who doesn’t pretend to be otherwise as racial militancy.
I, for one, am sick of being lied to. I am of a generation whose political views have been formed by lies, and I am so weary of distrust. I am weary of feeling that my leaders are contributing to collapses across the world and across the country, and that no matter how loudly I scream, they’ll continue to cover their ears while they press red button after red button after red button.
Why do I support Barack Obama? Because for the first time in years, I’m excited.
People of my generation, from my neck of the woods—we’re not used to feeling that. We don’t get excited. We get angry. We get snarky. We don’t feel hopeful. We feel threatened. We feel overlooked. When Barack Obama speaks, I get excited. I feel hope. I am beginning to trust this gentleman who says he wants better things for me and for my country, and to believe he will work through any difficulty to get us those things. So I fight for him.
I don’t agree with everything he says. But I believe in him, and I believe that he believes in us. I believe he has the temperament, the judgment and the discernment to make the right choices under pressure and in peace. This country is broken. Many of our spirits are broken. Somebody has to fix it. I truly think he can.
