I Like Change, It Pays for Coffee

Well, well, well. Or should I say. "Yes, We, Can". Or maybe "Change, Change, Change". Or even "Block That Kick." The message may change, but the syllables remain. O-Bam-A. This is what it feels like to be proud of your country, to be part of an historic event, to have hope...

...Kind of feels the same. Today I woke up and watched my Dad go out of his way to bring my sister back to school, even though his schedule was tighter than Minnesota's Senate race. I then took off to Eastern M Sports (due to an increased number of UGG boots and designer "outdoor" apparel we can not legally say Mountain in our name) for my annual 2 month stint as a retail worker. After putting in my nine to five...minus four, I negotiated a trip back to my mom's house with my car (the car agreed, provided it didn't have to go above 55 on the highway) to settle down in the basement for the night.

As far as I can tell, I'm still paying taxes, I still don't have health care, the environment is still being destroyed, and I still live with my mom (that wasn't on the ballot?). In fact, the only change that I can see is that gay people can no longer get married in California. I thought this was an historic election, an sign our country is moving in the right direction finally, an chance to prove to ourselves and the to world that we will accept the responsibilities that come with being a great nation. I mean, we've finally voted the right person into office (third time's a charm), can we expect any more from ourselves than the sacrifices we've made over the past two years towards the change we believe in?

Yes We Can.

Just like our President-Elect, the hardest part has yet to come. Fox analysts will be the first to tell you that Obama has played the only card he has up his sleeve, and when it comes to getting things done, his growing pains will last just as long as the mid-80's ABC sitcom (8 years for those of us who didn't follow the Seaver family). Catchy campaign slogans and inspirational speeches will not bring about the changes that matter. So after hearing that, did we really elect the right guy?

Yes We Did.

What Fox doesn't get is that we don't support Obama because he has all the answers. We don't expect him to make our decisions for us. We don't need him to change our country by himself. We needed someone to put the ball back in our court. Someone to stop lying, stop disguising, stop spinning, and give us a little ownership and responsibility in the country we belong to. Someone to inspire us to give money for the first time, to cross state boundaries and campaign for the first time, to vote for the first time, to care enough for our future to do something about it for the first time. Barack Obama isn't going to single handedly change our country. But he's already inspired millions of Americans from every background to stand up and be the change we want to see in this world. He inspires each of us to ask ourselves how we can help, where can we make a difference, what can we do to be a change. He's opened a new door full of possibilities for all of us, and all he asks is will we follow his lead and step up to the challenges of the future?...

Andrew
Proud American