Obama Makes Me Cry

     Because he's so freaking awesome!  (Prefaced for anyone reading under a different premise :))

     As I have expressed to others many times over the past four and a half years, but with more frequency since November, I can hardly listen to the man speak without getting emotional.  I can vividly remember, as I assume those before me can with MLK or JFK, sitting in the Sydney International Airport desperately trying to connect to the internet to confirm what the lounge newsstand was reporting. It was as if time stood still, my, excuse me, the country's, entire future ahead.  Finally the arrow stopped spinning, and there he was in a shower of confetti.  (Thanks Google, you're always there for me.)  What is it about one man that has me so utterly inspired by the human race, utterly inspired by its potential?  So glad you asked!  Allow me to explain.

     Expectations.  Of more than what one person can do alone.  Of more than what one political group is capable of accomplishing.  Of more than what one country can sustain.  The expectation that the world is in our hands, that we can control our destiny, and that the only things that are out of reach are what we put there.

     Hope.  Not of a swift end to the recession; one man does not govern what must be a collaborative effort.  Not of an over-night eradication of all illegal aliens and hastily implemented border laws; this country was born of alienation.  No, the hope I have is more objective.  It is the hope of leading people toward an open-minded tomorrow, toward a free-thinking citizenship.

     Promise.  To enhance environmental policy, not find ways around it.  To earth preservation, not destruction.  To ensure my children will know polar bears are wild animals, not zoo exhibits.  And most importantly, to promote "culture" as a part of every day education and experience, not a threat or scare tactic.

     Am I putting all of my faith in the President?  Perhaps, but if you lead, they will follow.  Can this one leader do all that I have proposed?  Unlikely, but it's not up to him, it's up to us.  His job is to open our eyes.  Do I really think that just one person can make a difference?  Yes, because all individual people add up to an amazing whole.  The whole country, the whole world; one world.  Obama makes me cry because he makes me see a better place, makes me see a better me.  Rivers are crossed one stepping stone at a time, and a blue one has just appeared from the brackish water.

Go forward my friends.