Wednesday, November 7, 2012

the man in the mirror.


Wow! The times are a changing. This country... and this world. And I absolutely love that we are amidst a revolution!  You have two choices here:  bitch and call each other names and get stuck in the past with your closed mind (which honestly, is this exact thinking that is setting our country back) OR accept, evolve and adapt with the changes (that you can not deny, are actually happening right now!) and help make this world a better, equal  and happier place for everyone, of every nation.
I’m proud to be an American and of the citizens of this great country of love and opportunity.  I’m proud of our President and that I voted and supported him. I wish everyone woke up this morning feeling what I did, but sadly that was not the case. The country is back headed in the right direction. Half of you don’t think so, but it is. I hope one day, you will see that. This was way more than a political fight, and that too, I hope you will one day understand.
It's not just because Obama is the President, like he said in his acceptance speech, the fight is not over. The fight still belongs to us, the people. We’ve spent way too much time and energy campaigning for one man to change the country, but not one man can… nor could he ever. He has an open mind. He has compassion. He knows of the struggles and discrimination's so many people face. He can lead us and he can push us,  but he can’t make us.
The young people, women and minorities won this election and they (we) are the future of this country. One day it’s not going to be a big deal that there is an all-woman political delegation or that a Senator or Representative is gay or Hispanic or disabled… because it’s just the way it is, and should be. Celebrate our differences, but accept them first.
We have to fix our minds and our hearts before we can fix anything else… because at the end of your life, I guarantee you are not going to be thinking about how many taxes you or anyone else paid.  You’re not going to be thinking about two men getting married or who is smoking what and where. You’re going to be thinking about your quality of life, and how you chose to live it. You’re going to regret the things you didn’t do or say and wonder if you did enough to carry you on, to wherever you believe your soul is going to go after your body takes its last breathe.
So I'm asking everyone, and telling (actually screaming at) myself, what Gandhi asked of us all - be the change you wish to see in the world.
 
"far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. i may not reach them, but i can look up and see their beauty, believe in them and try to follow where they lead." -louisa may alcott