InspireMe

2008-10-11T15:20:00.000-07:00

I was watching TV. A show called Jack & Bobby that only made it one season. The show centers around two brothers and their mother. The premise of the show is looking back at the life of Bobby the youngest brother. Sometime in the future Bobby becomes President of the United States. The show mostly shows episodes of the brothers lives that correspond to cuts to the future where people talk about Bobby in an interview fashion. This show works hard to paint a picture of Bobby as the President that we all imagine and hope for. It tries to inspire our hearts and minds with the lessons and ideas of these characters. For me it worked. I find myself hoping for a leader like that to stand up. A leader that truly has the qualities that we imagine a good leader should have. A leader that is not just talking, but actually saying something. A leader that can inspire not just some of us, but all of us.

Since I have had the right to vote I have found myself with a choice that we all don't want to make. A choice between the lesser of two evils. Although by definition this is technically a choice, it really doesn't fit the bill when we talk about the idea of choice that our forefathers had in mind. Our political system has been paired down to a choice between two people. Yes, there are other parties and the independents, but they don't get much in the way of exposure that the Democratic and Republican candidates do. We know it comes down to money, and some ridiculous rules about who qualifies to be in a debate. So for all intents and purposes we choose between two.

So this election season,just like all the ones previous, I find myself in the precarious position of voting for the lesser of two evils again. I have been a moderate all my life. I don't lean too far to the left or the right on any issues. So now I find myself with the choice between a staunch liberal, and a unstable conservative.

The staunch liberal talks a lot, but really doesn't say anything. He says the word change just to say the word. It's what America wants to hear. We are so fed up with the current administration that one word gets folks all revved up. Well, I'm sorry Mr. Obama, but it takes more than one word to get my vote. I want a leader, not a man who is pandering to the crowds. I want a leader, not a man who says what is popular over what is right. I want a leader, not a man who uses broad strokes to paint his picture of change. I want a leader, not a man who talks about what his opponent has done wrong instead of what he is going to do right.

The unstable conservative, well to be brutally honest has done a hell of a job alienating most of the moderates when his campaign became more about why we should not elect Barrack Obama rather than providing any clear reasons why we should elect him.

Mr. Obama has the capability to be that man; I think...Nothing he has said has done the one thing that would get my vote. He hasn't said a thing that inspires me. I keep hoping that someone will stand up, say those things that need to be said. Inspire us to unite as a people rather than separate us with partisanship and half-truths. Inspire us to become more involved in what is happening around us in a proactive sense rather than reactive. Inspire us out of that deep pit of apathy that we find ourselves unknowingly entrenched in. Inspire us to innovate, invent, and push forward out of this lull that we find ourselves in. Inspire us to care more about the education of our children rather than how much it costs. Inspire us to volunteer our time, our money, and our sweat to make this country more like it is in the story we tell all those people we are "liberating." Inspire us to think more about here, than we think about wherever there is.

I am still waiting for that person to stand up and inspire me. Are you out there?

Inspire Me

InspireMe