Our society can indeed change. It has and it will.

[Pacifist Patriot]

Forget the whole "change, change, change," campaign rhetoric. That's not the change I'm talking about.

I'm enrolled in The Humanist Institute right now and have the amazing advantage of having Tony Pinn on the faculty and as my class mentor. He is a professor at Rice University who teaches classes on African American religion. Because of course requirements, suggestions and subsequent curiosity I have been reading a great deal of African American literature. Autobiography, novel, poetry, essay....

There is no way anyone can read Richard Wright and not recognize how far we have come in a comparatively short span of history. This is not to say we have reached parity in terms of race relations or racial power, but we are headed in the right direction. I maintain optimism that the same will be true of gender relations and the acceptance of the GLBT community as humans with equal rights and access to power.

Whatever one thinks of the candidates, we have a female and an African American competing for the opportunity to run for president as THE representative of one of the two major political parties in our country. I detest the "make history" meme simply for the sake of making history, but cannot help but reflect on the sheer impossibility of such a situation less than 100 years ago. Women could not even vote until 87 years ago. Blacks could not vote unmolested until...well, in some cases their vote is still being suppressed if not as violently.

I find it mildly ironic that my first choice for president was a white male, but I am confident my preference was based on qualifications, platform and record rather than race and gender.

We still have many miles to travel in order to reach a position in which our society truly is power equitable when it comes to gender, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. But let us not forget we've come a long way before we give up in despair.

Progressive causes that focus on the worth and dignity of every human being and the interconnectedness of our planetary home are worth the effort. Even if we don't see the results in our lifetime. Our children, grand-children and further progency deserve our dedication.

Imagine a world as different from 1920s Chicago as 1990s Chicago in 2060. Hey, I'll only be 92. I might be around to see it.

Rock on Progressives!

[babylonsister]

1. Thanks for this positive post; makes me even a bit hopeful for the

future, though I'll be taking a long nap by 2060. ;)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

Imagine a world....

In my lifetime, I have seen great changes-I've seen our society change in many ways. I do sincerely believe that we are, with each breath, coming closer to the ideals you talk about.

[opihimoimoi]

2. Sounds like not CHANGE but..A RETURN TO SANITY

Come, we go build.....

[Pacifist Patriot]

5. Amen!

[Jeffersons Ghost]

3. K&R for a light in the darkness...

optimism in this sea of political despair is like a beacon of hope to guide us through troubling times. thanks

[Pacifist Patriot]

4. These days I have to share my optimism whenever I feel it.

Goodness knows there is more than enough to be pessimistic about. Thanks!