So much negative emotion and effort has been given to further personal and corporate agendas in this and past political campaigns. The imperative to denigrate and demolish the other guy has become primary while the promotion of effecting real and positive change in America takes a back seat and is often forgotten.

Even though our motivations usually begin well principled with us saying we support our guy. It is all too common that fear sets in, takes over and begins to dictate a new motivation, one that nullifies that other guy…..and the nastier done, the better. 

Is it necessary? Do we not even give a thought to the change of mind and heart, or do we just blindly follow the lead of those whose only task is to win at any cost to character and reputation?

Is it so difficult to maintain good posture and principle throughout the process? Or must it be that one is left standing while the other lies bloodied and lifeless?

Minutes ago I witnessed history unfolding as Senator Barack Obama, an Afro-American, delivered an electrifying speech, as he became the first presumptive nominee to represent the Democratic party as candidate for President of the United States……and I began to think and write.

Maybe he could be our answer. Maybe he, with his unshakable optimism, could keep us focused on “the goal.” Focused on what we can do, not on what the other guy can’t. Focused on the America we wish for our children, not on the settling for the status quo. Focused not on the fear of reliving our past but on the promise of a new future.

I truly believe, even as the “goose bumps” diminish, that he may be the man for changing not just who sits in the Oval Office, but how he or she gets there.

The other wonder I am witnessing is the new blood that has been infused into the American electorate. Could this be the death of political apathy amongst those that have historically chanted, “Why vote…nothing will change?”

It is not just the inconvenience of casting a ballot that keeps and has kept Americans from making the effort and fulfilling that right that so many have given their full measure to further and protect. It is all too often that the feeling of hopelessness and powerlessness has won over, negating any desire to play their part in the American experiment.

This has become our dilemma. A dilemma not just for you, the individual reflecting on these words you are now reading, but a dilemma for those children nearing that age when they to will face the same decision to vote or not to vote.

What lesson shall we teach them, what legacy shall we leave them?

That it is better to accept their lot in life, encouraging them to play the cards they have genetically been dealt. Or, should they answer a higher calling and by the example of our actions, not political rhetoric, teach them to carry the burden of carrying freedom’s torch.

When I listened to Obama speak tonight I thought, why not let him lead the charge and help us teach the next generation that it can be better but there is a small cost they must pay; a cost that could and should be paid at the ballot box.

Certainly a small price to pay for for so much!

Symbols vs Behavior, Obama: Patriotism, Piety - I was disappointed this week to hear one of my friends criticizing Obama for lack of patriotism - not putting his hand over his heart during the National Anthem, not wearing a flag on his suit, and being sworn in using the Koran rather …

Obama Makes Eagles Weep - … false flag posting from a Colbert wannabe. Nope. Dude, I question Obama’s patriotism without hesitation. But geez, I don’t bash folks over the head with half-witted banal tropes to make the point. Ease up there, Riefenstahl.

Obama Claims Victory as Democrats Presumptive Nominee “This Was … - “What you won’t hear from this campaign is a politics that uses religion as a wedge and patriotism as a bludgeon”. Barack Obama is the first African-American nominee for president of any major political party in the United States. …