Hope and Fear

I woke up this morning to the news of Obama's victory in the election and shed a tear or two of joy. Obama has inspired more hope than any other politician in my lifetime and now he has the opportunity to take all of that energy that has been generated and direct it towards helping the US return to a place of true prominence and respect in the international community. Our nation is in bad shape. Our economy sucks, there are a variety of social ills (insufficient health care being one of them) and we are losing two wars (one of which was entered into under false pretenses). Granted, we are still in better shape than many of the other nations of the world, however for the past eight years we have fallen far short of our potential.

I hope that our new president along with the Democratic majority in Congress will be able to help our country move back towards its rightful place as leader of the free world. I hope that the fear-mongering and diplomatic ineptitude exhibited by the Bush administration will be replaced by a reasoned and well-thought-out approach that does not view compromise as failure and recognizes that the US cannot bully the world around. I hope that the election of an African-American president will serve to help heal some of the racial wounds that continue to fester throughout the US. I hope that Obama's election will serve as proof that American truly is the land of opportunity and inspire the youth of America to strive for greatness. I hope that Obama lives up to his promise and is the great leader that many of us expect him to be.

but...

I fear that perhaps the hole we have dug for ourselves is too deep. I fear that Obama and his administration will be held hostage by a Congress that remains beholden to lobbyists and special interest groups (including AIPAC). I fear that the election of an African-American president will serve as a rallying cry to bigots, neo-nazis, the klan and other racist scumbags who will crawl out from under their rocks to try and poison the nation with their hate. I fear for Obama's safety. I fear that Obama's talk of change will remain talk. I fear that if Obama is not successful it will crush the optimism and enthusiasm exhibited by the younger generation of voters during this election (myself included) and in its place will grow the bitter herb of cynicism.

I think a lot of people don't realize that Obama inspired hope not just in the US but around the world. There are critics out there who will say that this is because he is viewed as weak by the international community, however in my reading I have not found this to be the case. It is much more about people wanting to believe in the American ideal and the American dream and feeling like they could not do that while W was president because of the way he related to the world. The international community, like much of the US, believes that Obama truly will be an agent of change and provide a fresh start for how the US interacts with the rest of the world, not simply because of his background, but because he is viewed as being a thoughtful, reasonable man.

I hope President-elect Obama and the Democratic Congress realize the opportunity they have now. They have the chance to make great and positive changes and to remind the world why the US is thought to be the best nation in the world.

I fear that they will squander this opportunity and in four years we will find ourselves, at best, no better off as a nation than we are today.

But I hope...