If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem

There is a saying "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." I have to admit this hits me head on this morning. We have a new President, our first black President - Barak Obama. He was not my choice for President - not because he was black, but because I was conerned about his affiliations with known terrorists, his lack of experience, his lack of a voting record, and most important to me - I do not agree with his economic policy. None of these are things that just occured to me this morning - no, these are things I have been conerned about all along. As the days turned into week, the weeks into months, and months into years - the surging tide for Obama became stronger and stronger. I became more concerned as the weeks passed by, one after another. I worried as I heard Acorn was out going door to door registering voters - and urging them to vote Democrat. I worried as I heard the Hollywood liberals - one after another - endorse Obama, and malign Mccain - I knew they carried a certain weight with the young and impressionable voters. I worried as I heard more and more Republicans turn against their party and throw their support to the Deomcratic candidate. Yet, at no time did it coccur to me that there might be something that I could - should- do to counter this rising support for Obama. I realize now that I have to blame myself for part of the McCain loss - I did nothing to ensure his win.

The Democratic Party appeals very much to the idealism of the young. The young are earnest in their support, and energized to act. They don't take "no" for an answer, and they have the drive to work long and hard for what they believe in. The Republican Party tends to be more of an older part of our populalation. We are "too busy, too tired, too jaded, too scared, too apathetic" to act. If the Republicans would like to once again be in charge of running our country, we will have to change - we will have to become involved in a way we have not been in the past.

The Republican party has left many of its supporters behind. The last four years they have ignored the will of the people at an alarming rate. I believe most people are far more moderate than what the party is touting. If they are to regain the support they have lost, they will need to take a serious look at what they have become, and realign themselves with a more moderate approach.

Enough about what was - on to the possiblities that lie before us. A black man has been chosen as our leader - something unthinkable for most black Americans - before today. My hope is, this Presidency will unite the country - that we will finally all feel that we are equal. That the same opportunities will exist for people - no matter what their color. It is also a time that black people will have to step up to the plate - they will not be able to use the excuse of being black as their reason for failure.

I am looking forward to an exciting four years ahead of us. I am looking forward to seeing a country that has been slit apart, begin working together. I am looking forward to seeing a vision that is bright and shiny and new - become a reality. I am looking forward to a stronger, better, healthier America. I will hold these hopes and dreams in my heart as long as I possibly can. I hope that vision becomes a reality.