Journal 2.0

This post is a continuation of my post Inspiring Word on an Inspiring Day.

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.

A collection of inspired and inspiring blog posts to preserve forever the power of this great day.

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

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!

Found this video on the Huffington Post.

Inspiration. Hope. Change.

On WeNeedThisNow there is a terrific post about Jesus and Socialism.  It’s balanced and well thought out.  And the author is funny.  This is one of the most sensible things I have read throughout this entire election season.

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.

I didn’t know we could do this, but I just learned on Lani’s Gentle Leftist Blog that PBS and YouTube are running a Video Your Vote campaign. What a great idea. A grassroots way to document this historic moment in our history.

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.

I don’t normally tell people how to vote, but I just have to throw this out there, on the slight chance that someone from Florida happens upon this blog. Please vote No on 2.

Amendment 2 doesn’t do anything to “protect” marriage, but it will remove important family protections for all unmarried families, gay and straight.  Here are ten ways Amendment 2 would hurt families from Mean Queen’s Weblog.

I’ve seen so many Yes on 2 signs and bumper stickers around here and it surprises me that people are so willing, seemingly proud, to proclaim their bigotry.  I just don’t get it.  I don’t get any of the arguments against gay marriage.

If you are against gay marriage, please enlighten me.  How does it “hurt” or “threaten” your family?

There are more divorces and adultery in the Bible Belt than anywhere else in the country.  That is a cold, hard fact.  So please don’t tell me that it’s because of the Bible.  Just don’t.

Where is the logic?  My husband says it’s simply a matter of people being afraid or uncomfortable about seeing same-sex couples holding hands and kissing in public and not wanting to have to explain that to their children.  Could that be true?

If so, then I have a simple solution:  Tell them it’s two people in love.  See, I told you it was simple.

The fact of the matter is that this is a fight you cannot win.  It’s called “Progress” and it’s happening whether you like it or not.  I, for one, will not impede Progress by filling my child’s innocent mind with restrictive nonsense regarding who she can and cannot fall in love with.  As the mother of a little girl in this day and age, her turning out gay does not even make my list of Things to Worry About.  And neither should it worry you.  The bottom line (heh) is that most gay people are born gay, so there’s nothing you can do to change it anyway.

And what consenting adults do in the privacy of their own home is none of your concern.

Why insist that EVERYONE live by your rules?  Isn’t it difficult enough for you to live by your rules?  Why take on the added burden of enforcing your rules on ALL OF SOCIETY?  It just seems like a waste of time and energy.

Ok, rant done.  Peace.

I saw this on Meaningful Distractions and wanted to preserve the video for my own selfish reasons, mostly to hear Sen. Obama’s inspirational orating over and over.  I didn’t know how starved I was for an eloquent and intelligent President–I thought I’d just become apathetic.

Shadow Campaigner writes:

Maybe when this whole thing is over, someone can explain to me how the McCain-Palin ticket — which has gone around the country demarcating “real America” from “fake America” – someone can explain to me how this is the ticket that supposedly puts “Country First.”  They’ve put certain parts of the country first, sure, but not country as a whole.

Definitely check out the rest of the post.  It’s so worth the read.

During one of the presidential debates, Corey told me the election comes down to one simple question: Would you leave your child alone with that man?

I laughed, or course, because he’s always joking, but he was serious. He said, “Look, look at that guy. Would you leave Marley alone with him?” He knows me well enough to know my answer. And I knew his.

Obviously, by saying that, Corey activated my Reticular Activating System, because soon afterwards, these pictures began appearing on my computer.

Look, I had a dog once, good ol’ George.  Every once in a while, he’d nip the ankle of a good friend. It would happen repeatedly with three different people. Just those three.  After each of these “friends” successively proved that he was not, in fact, friendly, we realized that George could sense duplicity. The dog knew long before we did that certain people could not be trusted.

Kids are the same way. They feel vibes. They feel them more strongly than adults do, because they haven’t yet been conditioned to suppress their intuition.

On Salon.com, Heather Haverlisky says, “Even my 2-year-old has taken to shouting “Obama!” when she sees his face on our TV screen. (Last night, after we watched the news together, she added, “I want more Obama.”)”

For me, that is a good endorsement.  These pictures are an endorsement.  Kids know more than we give them credit for.

Look at this kid. Poor thing! He’s horrified.  He doesn’t want to go anywhere near Sen. McCain.  He might even be traumatized for life.

And then we have this:

REUTERS/Jason Reed

And these:

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

And this:

All these babies look relaxed, at the very least.  They’re certainly not scared shitless like the first kid.

And I must say, I’m taken with how closely Sen. Obama regards each of these children.  His demeanor with them is relaxed.  He knows how to hold a baby.

In contrast to this:

Both Sen. McCain and the baby are clearly anxious.

This is my favorite.  The boy’s happiness is priceless, his comfort obvious.  But I love how Sen. Obama appears fully present.  He’s consciously receiving the little boy’s hug.  Which shows me what a person can only show and not tell–that he or she is present, aware, strong and capable.  Even spiritual.

That he would take the time to be present with each of these children gives me faith.  It gives me hope that he might actually mean what he’s saying.  And it gives me a peaceful feeling thinking that, if he wins, we might actually have an evolving human being in the White House.

And yes, I trust that my daughter would be safe, even well cared for, if I left her alone with Sen. Obama.  As a parent, it’s an excellent criteria for judging the worthiness of a candidate for a position that is supposed to require honest concern for Americans and people in general.  Thanks, Core.

~~~~

Most of these photos came in an email and I only have photo credits for the first three Obama pics.  If you know sources for the others, please let me know.