"ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country..." - JFK

for the first time in 2008, i openly cried. and how can i not? president-elect, barack obama, had said such an inspirational speech.

regardless of what you think of the concept of democracy, now is not the time to express apathy.

i voted for him because he was articulate, that he was inclusive, that he wanted to change the direction of where this country is going, which is right now is a downward spiral. i voted for him because out of the two parties, i felt the democrats have a better plan in tackling the isues at hand.

a bonus is that he has melanin. that he represents a face in which many of the Americans out here share. that he broke the racial barrier that kept us separated for so many decades. the ancestors who came before us smiles, because it has planted a seed of inspiration and hope to many of our hearts, in all different ethnicities, ages, and gender.

thank you, america, for proving me wrong- that america was too racist and sexist to even consider obama, or clinton.

but serious folks, this man is also stepping into a shit storm... a looming depression, foreclosures around the nation, two wars, and a world tired of military occupation and oppression.

it won't take one term. shit, it won't take take two terms. we tried the right-wing policies of Dubya and look where it led us. i don't mind republicans, though i am left-wing. it is the neo-cons and the ultra right-wing social advocates who i fear.

(hide behind your religion and use the Bible as a deceptive weapon to validate your fear and hatred- but the God who speaks in me says you are misled.)

so with knowing this, i am even more inspired. i am more inspired to be proactive, to erase all the doubt that i had in the system and re-ignite my faith in the people.

a government for the people by the people.

it's not about just one man saving us. it's about the people, it's about us. i'm backing my president up with this concept of change and hope.