Saturday, October 13, 2012

A Change Is Gonna Come....Or Is It?


 

Twelve years ago you wouldn't have found a more idealistic young woman. Raised by parents who were active in both civic duty and charity groups, I had a sense of community service and involvement from a young age. For some reason I gravitated towards politics and current events. My brother, nine years older than me, was able to vote for the first time when he was in college. I'll never forget calling him that November day to remind him. I was nine. He was not thrilled.

After the fiasco of the 2000 election, in which I volunteered tirelessly, I started to lose that innocence a little. The economy tanked after September 11th, through the fault of no one but the cowards who attacked us.The last ten years or so have been dismal economically for many but not for all. Government gridlock is the one constant in our political lives. And I have to wonder, will it change with this impending election, just mere days away? I hope so. The idealist in me believes it will. But I know too well what divided government will lead to-more gridlock. The only way out is for some brave lawmakers to cross the aisle, man up, put their own election worries aside and do what they were voted in office to do-unless of course one party has a majority in both the White House and Congress. History shows Americans prefer divided government however.

This will be one of the only times my blog takes on politics. But, as a woman in her 30s and a citizen of this country it can't be escaped. One thing has changed with age-my idealism. That freshman in college, who told Al Gore it was an honor to vote for him the first time she ever voted, has seen too much to believe like she used to. But, somewhere deep down, the 30 year old me still gets that thrill during election years and election night and believes, just a little, that things can change for the better. Hopefully you do too.

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