Many of the comments on this tampabay.com thread are decidedly uninspiring and reflect the reality here in deeply divided (and sometimes very, very stupid) Florida.

However, there are a few worth noting.  My favorite quote is from Helene.  She wrote:

It’s odd.

I am not (at all) sold that Obama is going to be the country’s savior. And it’s not like I’m some gung-ho liberal. …  I’ve never been one to single out one party and demonize them…I’ve always been a crotchety “I hate them all” independent. (And I still am.)

But last night, when I cracked a beer and settled in to watch Obama’s electoral landslide, something rather unexpected happened. I felt…not quite glee, but a warm, smug satisfaction. I was enjoying watching the numbers tick in Obama’s favor, watching the map turn blue, watching him rack up the states, one by one.

I was seeing America collectively flipping the GOP the bird, and it was so richly, gloriously deserved that I couldn’t help but get an immature, knee jerk kick out of it. Face it folks: Dubya & Friends have spent eight years making an utter mockery of the GOP’s mantra of small government, fiscal responsibility, and personal accountability. Then the party nominates an aging, erratic Senator that nonetheless could have appealed to independents and moderates–only to inexplicably push him to run a dated, cookie cutter, Us vs Them campaign that he was clearly uncomfortable with. They not only deserved to lose, but to lose BIG. And if nothing else, I salute the Dems for picking a guy that was able to hand them their butts on a platter….

I think she nailed it.

And Duane wrote:

This race was never about “issues” for me. It was about having someone in the Executive office that is a better statesman than what we’ve had in the last 8 years. Someone that inspires not only our own nation but all nations. Hope needed to be re-established for all Americans before anything within the economy would begin to rebound.
To see Hope in the faces of all MY people (Black, white, young, old) made me very proud again.
The Conservative base has not had this kind of a effect on a nation in a long time. The Republican party must aspire to do better, not as a party but as Americans in general. Stop the fighting and negativity and raise your standards and make me proud to be a Republican again please?

I agree 100 percent that “hope needs to be re-established” before we can improve the economy and conditions in our country.  The truth is that our thoughts create our reality.  So if millions of Americans are worried and fearful, those thoughts inevitably translate into more to worry about.  Many of us are tired of living under the flag of fear and cynicism.   It’s crucial that Americans have hope, that Americans believe in our country again before we can actually move forward and make changes.

We’ve been kind of like the walking dead.  These past eight years have been the worst in my lifetime in terms of the country’s morale and discourse.  How could we possibly make things better while we are feeling so down, so angry, so fearful?  And if it were up to the Republican party, we’d stay right here, fighting each other with shallow and angry regurgitated nonsense  and acting the bully on the world stage.

America and Americans need and deserve better than that.  The Democrats saw a need and they filled it.  They saw that many of us were starving for change.  They saw us degenerating into a nation of closed-minded, greedy, fearful slanderers and bullies practically incapable of any type of intelligent discourse regarding politics.  The Us vs. Them mentality has literally been killing us.

The Republicans, on the other hand, didn’t really see a need for change, even though they tried to portray that (with the Maverick thing) once they saw how Obama’s message was resonating.  It wasn’t genuine.  And they didn’t respect our intelligence enough to think we wouldn’t see through it.  Although we have been numbed by their rhetoric for the past eight years, so it’s not surprising they would try to continue pulling the wool over our eyes.

I, for one, am looking forward to actual discourse again.  I’ve been re-reading Obama’s speech on Religion and Politics and am looking forward to a President that thinks. And that encourages Americans to think, to discuss our differences in a civil manner, and to treat each other with compassion and respect–two crucial virtues that have been misplaced, and that will raise us up out of fear and back to greatness.

Somi’s new mornings and the audacity of hope

FitwithAndrea’s Drunk With Happiness

Chrissey on Hope

Spice with Tys posted Obama’s Victory Speech here. Thank you.

Rob Kall at the Huffington Post – The World Breathes a Sigh of Relief

I thought fitwithandrea said it well.  She wrote:

Message to the other side:  Stop the hate and appreciate the awesomeness of this historical moment.  And after deep soul-searching, please join us and let’s work together.  Barack will need all of us to support him in finding common sense solutions to the enormous problems we are facing.

It’s time to come together as a nation and remember what makes us great. Some of us have been disheartened, others hypnotized, by the last eight years. We have seen a proud nation deteriorate into a cynical, angry, selfish place.

It’s time to put all that acid aside and look to the future.  It’s time to rejoice in being United.

This is a proud moment for our country. And a happy moment for the world. Let’s sit in awe of what has been accomplished.

The first president my four-year-old daughter remembers will be President Obama. Wow. That is awesome in the true sense of the word.  To these children, the backlash fear and racism we’re dealing with now will seem silly and oh-so old-fashioned. They are growing up in a different, truly multi-cultural country.

The face of America is changing and that is good. This new world is going to be more inclusive. And that is good. My daughter refers to all doctors as “she” because that’s all she knows. And now, when she hears President she will think Obama.  It’s amazing to me that someday I will have to explain to her that this was a momentous occasion.  Because in her mind, it will always have been possible.  And that is the world I want her to know.

WTG America! Congratulations to us all and Congratulations to the Obama Family.

I am grateful to be here to witness this historic event and the coming of a new era in America.

Praise Jah!

Inspiration. Hope. Change.

It was quiet. Naturally quiet. This quiet has been hard to find in the state, county and federal parks we’ve visited here in Florida. Usually a background roar of car and/or airboat engines distract from the peace one is supposed to encounter in nature. Today, I could hear cars, but they were far enough away that I was able to tune them out.

We walked into the woods, Corey taking the lead, of course, Marley in the middle, and Old Mom (me) bringing up the rear. We walked along unofficial trails carved out by small groups of visitors who’d come before us to smoke a joint, have a beer, harass alligators. Their presence was obvious by the occasional red plastic cups and cigarette butts they left behind.

The trail snaked around the high banks on the water’s edge. Marley maneuvered through the vines, brush and tree roots like an old pro. Every so often, we’d encounter an open descent toward the water. Corey would tell us to stay put while he slunk down to check for alligators. It was clear we were not alone.

Swooshsplash! I turned my head just in time to see a four- or five-foot gator crash ungracefully into the shimmering water. “Gator! Gator!” I yelled to Marley and Corey. It was the closest we’d been to a wild gator since moving to Florida, so our hearts beat with excitement.

On our way down the next bank, we heard another splash and caught sight of a second gator, about 8 feet long, with a head bigger than all of Marley. We were on top looking down on his glistening bumpy hide as he swam away.

We moved on along the rugged path to the next opening. Corey skulked down one opening, while Marley and I checked out another very close by. I was holding Marley’s hand when I came around a slight bend just in time to hear an enormous SPLASHHH! and see a huge 10 foot gator writhe and bend as he splashed into the water below.

It frightened all of us. Corey was closer to him than we were, but his view was partially blocked by trees, so he didn’t see the gator until he splashed into the water. Marley “cried two little tears” she said later, and moaned, “I’m afraaaaaid.” I picked her up onto my hip like the toddler that she was not so long ago and told her it was okay. We were safe.

Corey rushed back to our side of the bank and we all stood there, hearts pounding, eyes wide. Frightened but exhilarated.

We continued on this path, but I had become nervous. Corey went to check out another opening in the path. However, Marley and I were too close to the water for my comfort, too low. I know alligators cannot climb steep banks, so I felt relatively safe up there. Down here, I felt like, well, a sitting duck. I continued to hold Marley like a baby and I noticed she didn’t squirm to get down. The size of the last two gators reminded me that they could break her in one hearty chomp.

I encouraged Corey to stop exploring now and start heading back. He took one more excursion toward the water and when I asked him to come back, Marley patted my hand and in a peaceful little voice said, “Stay calm, Mama. Stay calm.” She was patting my hand like a little old lady! She’s such a trip.

Definitely a nature walk to remember.

Therefore the best thing to do is eat your Oreos and share with your friends.  Children are taught this yet we adults think it’s childish?   Do you actually think that the need for socialism or class struggle would be necessary if we shared FREELY (That is the most important part, the word freely).  Does it mean that there would be a Utopia? No. Does it mean that there would not be the poor? No, but there would most likely be less poor. Does it mean that we would live happily ever after? No.  Does it mean that there would not be wars? No, but maybe less wars….maybe.  Does it mean that our friends and we would enjoy each other more? I think so.  Does it mean it would end greed? No, but it might lessen it.  Does it mean that we would have all that we ever wished for? Nope, but we might have more of what we wished for.

I agree that a generally more generous attitude would do much to alleviate the tension and stress in our lives and in our country.  Our greed and lack of any sense of responsibility for each other is callous and self-defeating.  We’ll never have “enough” if we don’t open our hearts, minds, and sometimes even (God forbid!) our wallets to one another. Most people are decent human beings who would not take advantage.  There is plenty to go around.  Give and it shall be given unto you.

Click here to read the rest of the post on WeNeedThisNow.

1 – Grab the book closest to you (with at least 123 pages)
2 – Turn to page 123.
3 – Find the 5th sentence.
4 – Post the next three sentences.

Here is my answer:

And that naturally I took away Toph’s gun privileges, and of course beat him within an inch of his life, so zealously that something snapped in his leg somewhere, a tendon maybe, and he fell to the floor, squealed like a pig, couldn’t get up, had to be take to the emergency room.  That while we were at the hospital some doctor must have snitched or something, because a cop shows up and–

“What did you tell the cop about his leg?” Diedre wants to know.

“Oh, that was easy.”

–fromA Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers

This one was my favorite.  Like Lani says, it restores faith in humanity.

My daughter’s only four years old, so it will be fantastic to have all our videos for her to see when she’s old enough to understand.