Wednesday, January 21, 2009

When I Think About Why I Support Our New President

Yesterday I read a post written by Jim, a blogger I read daily and tend to not only agree with most of the time, but truly enjoy reading because he has a remarkable way with words. In his blog yesterday I got the sense that he is cautiously optimistic with regard to our new President (and/or his abilities to change the nation as he has publicly stated multiple times that he desires to do). I wanted to respond to Jim’s post and began typing a comment but as my own opinions began to expand I felt it deserved its own post. I strongly encourage everyone to first read Jim’s post from yesterday to fully understand my response here. I would also like to say that I definitely respect and applaud Jim for putting his own feelings on the subject out there to be absorbed just like I am about to do; this is one of the greatest things about our nation -- we are allowed to freely express how we feel regardless if we agree with each other or not.

“Very well thought out and indeed an excellent way to explain the facts as you see them. I do agree that in most cases a "good" or "bad" job comes down to conjecture by the individual making that opinionated assessment.

I am an enormous supporter of Obama for many reasons and race definitely has something to do with it. It is a percentage of what makes him, well, him. Just the same there are percentages of him growing up poor, going to Harvard, coming from a broken home and losing his father. I am not a black man who grew up in a poor broken home that went on to attend an Ivy League school but I identify with him because I am, well, me and he reminds me that each of us in this world will face our very own unique challenges. I identify with the new leader of our nation because he is not seemingly excluded from this group like so many other politicians. We all struggle in some way, we all celebrate, we all come from somewhere and I applaud and respect Obama's ability to put it out there for all of us to see, no regrets and certainly no apologies. I guess what I am really trying to say is it is nice to see that the person running our country is not infallible, that he does not claim to have all the answers but is going to attempt in the best way he knows how to bring the spirit of this country back to good again.

One thing I noticed in almost all of his speeches of late is that he does not claim to be the only one who plans to fix our problems but that he counts on all of us in this country to assist with the rebuilding of our country and his role is simply to help lead us in the correct direction to make those necessary changes. He believes in our ability to do so and because of that I believe in his ability to do the same.”

I choose to believe that Obama will be a great leader of this nation because I do have hope and faith in the people of the United States to rise above the feelings of despair that have managed to roll in like a thick beach fog to blur our view for many years now. With nothing more than a collective shift toward positive thinking, a smile between strangers or a helping hand from those who have for those who have not we can transition this country into the place where dreams come true again. It may sound idealistic, lofty even, but I for one feel supportive of my country, patriotic and that feeling has not occurred in many years so I am truly excited to run with it.

17 comments:

pastrywitch said...

Well said.

Suldog said...

Thank you, Jenn, for the kind words and the thoughtful response.

Yes, I am cautiously optimistic. I believe he is sincere, and that's about as good a quality as one can ask for in a human, agree or disagree with his/her politics. My fear is that too many of his supporters are expecting him to do the political equivalent of walking on water. I'm afraid that expectations are running beyond his ability to fulfill. We'll see.

Certainly race plays a part, as it does for us all. I despair, though, about our ability to move beyond such superficial factors in deciding which candidate we support. I hope that we will.

Again, thank you. I hope for all the best, as do you.

High Desert Diva said...

Yes, to all of it!

Karen said...

Yes, I haven't heard our new president say that he will fix things alone - he's counting on all of us - every one of us for change. I am very hopeful in looking toward the future but only time will tell.

Xylia said...

Applause! I truly think Obama will be the greatest American president of all time.

Bridgete said...

Very well said.

Chris Stone said...

you bring up a great point. That of identifying with Obama, in part because he is black. He is an "other." He is not of that rich white male establishment most presidents are seen to be a part of.

There are many reasons why I support Obama, and that has been an allusive one I hadn't defined.

I also love that he has had strong intelligent women in his life. That he doesn't "dumb down" for the american people. That he has relatives on 3 continents. That he spent a portion of his childhood in another country. And yes, because he is black, not just as an other, but as a black man elected by a country with a past of racial segregation, discrimination, and slavery. One of the comments I heard was, blacks saying how they were so surprised so many whites voted for Obama.

great post. thanks for the insight.

ginger said...

run, jenn! run like the wind!!

i will run with you and then we will meet for coffee afterward.

suldog, you're saying obama can't walk on water?....(wink)....i need to clarify since i couldn't hear you over the sound of how awesome obama is.

Rosebud Collection said...

I really don't know what to think..I guess we will see as time goes on..but I do hope for the best, since I am a proud American and love this country also..

Judi FitzPatrick said...

I believe everything happens as it should - the country needed to have this injection of optimism at this time and there was Mr. Obama telling us how we can be better as a country, and as individuals. This is something we hadn't heard for many years from our pols.

If this new presidency does no more than wake people up to helping each other, rather than hurting; to lifting each other up, rather than tearing each other down; then how can we lose?

Thanks for a wonderful, thought provoking post.

Love, Mum

Sahara said...

I like that our new President uses the word "we" more than the word "I". That alone gives me great hope for this country. It's up to every one of us, to help him, to help us.

Jenn, much love to you and thank you for your sweet words. xo

Dick said...

To maintain momentum and fulfil promise, he's going to have to transform the notion of what it is to a patriot from tunnel-visioned love of nation to open-hearted love of country. Has a president ever managed that before?

Silvia said...

Ans so here is mine for you dear Jenn!!Let's smile, no matter others' comments:-) I don't care at all:-)

Jenn Flynn-Shon said...

Interesting question Dick and thanks for stopping by to pose it. In my limited time on this planet I have only ever (that I remember) seen four Presidents in action and now Obama will make five. I would have to say in response to your question, no, I do not believe a President has ever sucessfully pulled off love of country with every single member of the nation but as I have heard there is a first time for everything. The important thing to remember here is not what has been done before but what can be done now, where we will take ourselves on this great journey, how we will portray our own missions and when we approach those acts with kindness and hope it will spread. I do not believe we should be looking to a love of country but a love of ourself and each other and all that other stuff will just fall into place.

Thanks for stopping by and for commenting everyone, it will be an interesting journey over the next years if nothing else :) Find your joy and Spread The Love

spottedwolf said...

How wonderful it is to see a president of true 'prescence of mind' finally reach the Capitol again....
How beautiful it is to see the pendulum of change finally begin to swing in favor....
How richly rewarding it is to seek kindness among chaos and find it exists everywhere chaos does....
How glad I am to be priviledged to live in such a time with all its
acumen......and recognize my existence in choice....
How I wish for we, in Canada, to find someone of Barack's character to fund our agendas of harmony....

Wendy J. St. Christopher said...

Great post!

Many, many changes will come about because of this exciting, new presidency. Only some of them will involve politics.

President Obama, by his very existence, will eventually change the world, as we know it.

Some of the changes will be glaring, high-profile newsmakers. Others will sneak in under the nation's radar -- emotional and personal sneak attacks which will, ultimately, be the biggest changes of all.

What I hope is all the best to a new President who's plate is full to overflowing.

What I know is that because there is a President Obama, possibilities, that didn't exist a month ago, have been laid out for us -- all bright, shiny, and new.

It's about all of us.

And, it's about time.

TheresaJ said...

Great post, Jenn. I too am completely optimistic and feeling unusually patriotic and proud of my country and fellow Americans.

I wonder though... if the last eight years hadn't been as awful as they were, would we be here today? As much as I despise GWB, he was the perfect setup for what came next -- Obama! We -- meaning all of us -- not just those who think like you and I -- were completely ready for a big change -- a drastic change, and Obama is about as far from GWB as one can be. I hope everyone follows through and does their part. It is, and will be, a group effort.