Barack Hussein Obama
When I was little, I was told that standard lie that when I grew up, I could be President of the United States of America. Anybody could be president if they worked hard enough, because we live in a free country and have a democracy. So eat your broccoli and study and all that.
That lie isn't a lie any more.
Oh, I can list many "intellectual" reasons I voted for Barack Obama.
His stance on educational issues for example -- his disapproval (which I share) of "No Child Left Behind," and proposals to create community service opportunities for people to earn college stipends, rather than just military service or affirmative action-styled hand-outs.
The fact that he approves of "civil unions" for gay couples, even though he can't bring himself to say it should be called "marriage." At least he's for equal rights -- it's a start. His Pro-Choice stance is also important to me.
But mostly I voted for him because, for the first time I can remember, I see a candidate who actually listens to his opposition, considers all sides of an issue ... who doesn't go into his new job having already decided (and set in stone) all of his policies.
He won't surround himself with people who agree with him, as his predecessor did, to avoid the inconvenience of having to change one's mind when one learns something new. You see, nobody knows everything. Sometimes, you study up on something and learn something new, and then you think about it a while, and you gain a new perspective. Occasionally you even change your mind.
In politics, this used to be called "flip-flopping." In the sciences, we call it "intelligence."
This is the first election in which I voted FOR someone. I've voted AGAINST people before. I've just never before been inspired to vote FOR someone. In the booth today, I filled out the first oval, voting for Obama and Biden, and then I had to pause for a moment.
I stared at my ballot for about ten or fifteen seconds, and almost teared up. The last time I felt better than that, I was holding my newborn son. Someday I'll get to tell Mikey where I was when Obama was declared the 44th president.
I was kissing his mother. Because it feels like New Year's Day.
That lie isn't a lie any more.
Oh, I can list many "intellectual" reasons I voted for Barack Obama.
His stance on educational issues for example -- his disapproval (which I share) of "No Child Left Behind," and proposals to create community service opportunities for people to earn college stipends, rather than just military service or affirmative action-styled hand-outs.
The fact that he approves of "civil unions" for gay couples, even though he can't bring himself to say it should be called "marriage." At least he's for equal rights -- it's a start. His Pro-Choice stance is also important to me.
But mostly I voted for him because, for the first time I can remember, I see a candidate who actually listens to his opposition, considers all sides of an issue ... who doesn't go into his new job having already decided (and set in stone) all of his policies.
He won't surround himself with people who agree with him, as his predecessor did, to avoid the inconvenience of having to change one's mind when one learns something new. You see, nobody knows everything. Sometimes, you study up on something and learn something new, and then you think about it a while, and you gain a new perspective. Occasionally you even change your mind.
In politics, this used to be called "flip-flopping." In the sciences, we call it "intelligence."
This is the first election in which I voted FOR someone. I've voted AGAINST people before. I've just never before been inspired to vote FOR someone. In the booth today, I filled out the first oval, voting for Obama and Biden, and then I had to pause for a moment.
I stared at my ballot for about ten or fifteen seconds, and almost teared up. The last time I felt better than that, I was holding my newborn son. Someday I'll get to tell Mikey where I was when Obama was declared the 44th president.
I was kissing his mother. Because it feels like New Year's Day.