awe

I haven't been able to stop crying yet. I am awestruck. I had lost my faith in the political system years ago while I was working in politics, disillusioned by the reality of what I witnessed behind those closed doors of the ivory towers, what the political rhetoric translated to for those elected officials who said they served the people, those people who did not walk their talk, officials for whom their message was only words.

2001 happened.

2004 happened.

The message of hope and change began small and I dismissed it as campaign hoopla. But it continued to grow. It was pervasive. I listened with a cynical ear. I heard it in person in the packed Portland Coliseum - cried at the weight and substance of Sen. Obama's message, cried at the pain of not knowing if we could dare to hope that such a man with such a message could reach a place of leadership to actually make a difference.

As the last months have escalated in intensity, as the negative response from the extreme right has become louder, my dread has increased. How could such a simple message calling for change and hope hold against an entrenched system? I have never been afraid to be an American before - embarrassed, yes, but never afraid. My early childhood was in a military setting on foreign shores - I did not know that every movie theater in the world did not play the American National Anthem before every movie. And now, to hear the anger and the hatred coming across the airwaves and in the news from parts of our own country whipped up into a frenzy of campaign drama, I grew increasingly afraid for my family, my children and their children. And for a future that might embrace that negativity. My only hope became for Sen. Obama to succeed.

I am so relieved. I am so moved by the message that has remained steadfast and clear. I am so awed by all the greater implications of the outcome. A little piece of my faith is restored, and my little scrap of hope carries it forward.



Sherri

added by Rick:
Spontaneous "Star Spangled Banner" breaks out in Pioneer Courthouse Square
by Michael Rollins, The Oregonian Wednesday November 05, 2008, 9:53 AM

A crowd gathered last night at Pioneer Courthouse Square Park. At 8 p.m., when television stations called the race for Barack Obama, people broke out in an a cappella rendition of the National Anthem.


www.oregonlive.com