How did you spend your day today? A good number of people were off today. Schools were out, banks were closed, stock markets closed. In true American fashion a lot of people spent time shopping and spending money. And that’s fine, it’s what people like to do. But how many people took the spirit of this day and actually did something about it? Did you?
The answer for myself and my wife was yes. Today, along with yesterday we spent a few hours of our days off to reach out. To spread a message. To get people involved. We went to one of the poorest neighborhoods in the Kansas City area and were knocking on people’s doors asking them if they were registered to vote. Asked them if they had any questions. Two well off kids in a run down neighborhood trying to find ways to get people involved in their own well being.
We did have an ulterior motive though. We wanted to get the word out about “our” candidate. Passing out flyers for “our” guy. The thing is, it’s because of the people we visited and talked to over the last couple days that he’s “our” guy. These people need a change. They need a chance. They don’t need a handout or charity. They have skills and drive. They need help getting started.
We as Americans now are at the point of a major decision. We stand at an intersection with many different paths, none of which we can see the end. We can barely see the first few feet. And from that we have to make a choice. That choice will start us down a direction from which there could be no return. The good thing is we can see a little further down one of the paths than the others. The one we are currently on as a nation, we can see a few more feet, maybe even yards, than the others. They don’t look good. They actually look chilling and bleak.
I see this and demand a change.
Change for our nation. Change for our states. Change for our cities. Change for our neighborhoods. Change for our World. I see one person with the opportunity to make those changes. He’s got the vision and more so the passion and compassion. He’s the kind of guy that makes you want to believe. Makes you want to have hope for the future. And you know what. If we do believe, then there is hope for the future. That’s why I’m officially standing with Barack Obama as “my” guy.
In the past I used to vote along party lines. I was a good republican who listened to Rush Limbaugh, watched Fox News, voted for whatever guy we put up for office. Then something changed. I started looking at the plight of the people around me. Not just those in the east Kansas City neighborhoods. But those in the Brookside neighborhoods. What was their affluence doing to them? What was my good fortune doing to me. Most importantly how do I reconcile this with my faith.
I couldn’t reconcile it, I had to change. I hope over the next few days I can post some more thoughts on this subject. There is still so much more ground to cover and I want to get to it all. In the mean time head over to Barack’s home page and take a look at a few of the videos for yourself. Watch his speech from Iowa. Read about his faith in Christ. See for yourself why he wants us to lead the nation and not the other way around.
peace be with you
