My journal entry to my Son

[YankeyMCC]

I keep a running journal in private which someday when my son is an adult, perhaps after I have died, perhaps sooner, for him to read. I find myself unable to find anything worthwhile to add to DU regarding the election of Barack Obama, it is difficult to express and I have no dramatic personal story.

But I thought maybe this would add something of interest to the expression of hope and happiness we are sharing in today, here is what I will leave for my son in my journal:

It is the election of Baack Obama that has prompted me to make an entry. I supported Obama because the platform of the Democratic party generally line up with my own ethics and goals. And Obama in particular lines up more closely with my political and social positions than McCain did. Usually the environmental issues are my primary concern and Obama’s positions and ideas were a little more in line with mine, although to be honest not dramatically different from McCain on most points. But truthfully I’m more excited and happy about his election because of what it means for you. You will know a world where it will be taken for granted that a man of color from a very different (from what most people think of as the ‘normal’ American ) upbringing can be president. He is much more likely to restore the respect of the rest of the world as a leader in human equality and hope that 8 years of the Bush administration has destroyed and therefore you are more likely to grow up in a more peaceful world and not have to go to a dangerous war zone as a solider or contractor doing work in unsafe places.

I have no dramatic story or personal connection and Barack Obama himself has said his election is really a minor matter, it is all of us that must continue to work to make a better world. In his speech last night he told the story of a voter in yesterday’s election, a woman who is over 100 years old and born in a time where it was unthinkable that someone like her could vote and now she helped elect a man of color to the highest political office of this nation. It was not any of the Presidents of the past that made that possible, at least not alone, it was us the people. What is perhaps the best result is that Obama’s election is that it will give people of your generation an infusion of hope and recognition that you can make a difference and therefore yours will not be an apathy generation but an active and productive generation that will continue to build this nation and make it continually a better place.