Last of Our Kind

As I write this post, I see at the top of our page a countdown ticker. It says 13 days until the American people elect their new president. I look at the poll tracker on our page that says Obama is riding a 10-point lead. I look at the polls we place on our page to get an idea of what you are all thinking, and most of them seem to favor Obama. All four debates seemed to go in the Obama/Biden direction by all polling and opinions. Colin Powell endorsed Obama. The climate all around seems to reflect a shift towards Obama. The media seems to be calling McCain out on his lies and distortions over and over again. The Republican Party has resorted to every attack they can think of, and I do not think I need to go over them; we have addressed them over and over again. All signs seem to point to Obama…

So tell me why I am still skeptical? Tell me why I am hesitant to show excitement? Why should I be skeptical? I will tell you why…

Maybe it is the duality of my being, the idealist inside me at constant war with the realist. You see I want to believe that a transformational and inspirational leader could take office at this point in my life. I want to believe that the American people have had enough of their government failing them. I want to believe that we will no longer allow our leaders to insult our intelligence. But I am scared.

I am scared that somehow we will be let down again. I am scared of the people that will vote for a candidate based solely on his stance on abortion. I am scared of people that somehow still think Obama is a Muslim, and some how think that would disqualify him for the office of president. I am scared of people that think he is a terrorist and anti-American. I am scared of people that will not vote for him because he is African-American. I am scared of the young people so motivated by Obama not going to the polls on Election Day. I am scared of putting faith in polls that could easily be inaccurate and false. I am scared of people thinking, “Oh Obama is ahead in the polls…I don’t need to vote.” I am scared that the republican machine will steal an election just as they did in 2000. I am scared that there is still a chance that all the negativity will catch, just as it did in 2004, and the republican smear campaign will...you guessed it...steal this election. I am scared of some sort of surprise “We caught bin Laden, and McCain did all the work!” proclamation a week before the election. I am scared of a party that will do anything and everything necessary to win an election.

I am skeptical. I do not want to assume anything yet. I will keep writing my thoughts and trying in my own small way to be heard. I am skeptical…but I am still hopeful. So please go to the polls on Election Day. Vote early if possible. If you have friends that do not seem to care, get them involved. If you have something to say, say it. Everyone is welcome to post his or her thoughts here. If you like what you read here, put it out there, tell your friends, tell your family. Do something. Just get involved. Do not let this one be decided by everyone else.



I should not be scared or skeptical and neither should you.

Skeptically hoping for the best,
-LoOK