(Hopeful Optimism ^^)A short time before the elections as I agonized over my choice for President (yes, I knew who I was leaning towards but both had strong pros and some scary cons) I said a prayer. It basically asked God to guide the electorate in choosing the candidate who would be best overall for America. Last night, Barack Obama won and John McCain gave a very touching concession speech,
Before going to bed, I worked on a new prayer:
* Let this man who would lead us do so according to the guidelines he campaigned on, and in so doing, elevate all Americans.
* Let him wisely guide our interests at home and overseas and in so doing, keep us safe and remove the excuses others have used as justification for attacking Us.
* Let him work towards an America where equality means equal opportunity for all and not complete welfare anarchy, and in so doing, give all Americans the incentive, and the tools to contribute something meaningful to the fabric of America.
* Let him be guided by his Faith and his Mind, combining History and Future, and in so doing, create a nation where "I am what I am because of who we all are" is a challenge for all, not a call to indifference.
* Let us work as One Nation Under God to become the Americans we are being asked to become, and in so doing, usher in an era of fairness, freedom and humanity.
I may need to tweak it some.
Something else I thought about as I went to sleep, somewhat anxiously. Both candidates promised change, and I still believe the change McCain would bring would not be enough to "un-Bush" America. I do believe he meant well but I just can't shake the feeling that we'd be in for more trickle-down policy. Obama on the other hand, could represent changes on a grand scale that may or may not turn out how I'd like. Ape and I are already debating what's going to happen as a result of his win: Social program scope, civil rights changes, racial issues (brought up so eloquently by McCain in concession) and more. "Be careful what you wish for - you might just get it." Yeah, I may be eating my words in a year or so. I don't believe so - Obama seems too smart to be too stupid.
But certainly there ARE big changes coming. If I hear any more callers to morning shows going on about socialism or wealth redistribution, I might have to turn off the radio. Ape and I are also arguing over this point. I voted Obama EXPECTING higher taxes. In theory I have no problem doing my part to pay for a government that will protect me and offer me education and healthcare, and that has the elimination of poverty as a goal. I worked in the public sector for three years and saw enough poverty there to know ending it is one of the most important things we can do as a nation.
Obviously, I don't want my money going to ANYONE who isn't deserving in some way. I will not tolerate freeloaders or those who expect to live high on the hog on my dime. I don't know all the details of Obama's proposal, but hopefully regardless of its design, its execution prevents able-bodied poor-planning check-cashers from benefiting. Someone who is disabled or otherwise prevented from working? Sure. Someone who works a crappy job to make ends meet and needs free health care? Sure. Someone who is trying to balance a family and schooling and work needs some help with food? Sure. I believe if we can give everyone a reason to get up in the morning, and the tools to do something useful once they're up, they'll be a lot less likely to do stupid crap. No, I don't believe education will stop gangs, drugs, and laziness. But I do believe it will reduce these ills in the most effective way possible and will also hopefully produce citizens who have a concept of responsibility.
In the same vein, I think a healthier populace is more productive, either through less missed work/school or in being less of a drain on others who are trying to work or learn.
One of the big points Ape and I chewed over yesterday was the ideal of moral leadership. She feels that the trend in our society of unrestrained sexuality and violence in our media and our citizenry, especially shown on TV between end of school and dinnertime, is affecting the values of our society. Guess what? I AGREE with her. I think there need to be safe zones where families can be reasonably comfortable that their kids won't be exposed to things the parents don't want. However, Ape and I disagree on how we'd deal with this. I support broadcast limits for non-cable stations during afternoon hours - why the heck is Family Guy coming on at 5:30? I'm not saying it should be all After School Specials and cheesy cartoons. But surely there are shows we can broadcast OTA that are less troublesome than FG.
What I don't support is having government telling adults, especially consenting ones, what they can and can't watch, hear, or do. I believe Americans should be able to do pretty much whatever they want so long as they don't affect or interfere with anyone else. I have a beef with banning stuff or censorship. I don't have a prob with restrictions on sales - I don't want minors buying some of the stuff I listen to. But as an American adult, I should be the only person deciding what fits my personal values.
I do think the general breakdown of "family values" has contributed to a lot of what's wrong in this country, but listen up - freedom of choice DOES NOT mean freedom from responsibility!
OK, now I'm rambling and I know I'll be seeing a lot of teal deer (TL;DR) on this post. But I want this in print so I can remember what I was thinking on Election Day. I wonder who Norman Muller voted for...
