the reason i hope

“What you won’t hear from this campaign or this party is the
kind of politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism
as a bludgeon — that sees our opponents not as competitors
to challenge, but enemies to demonize.”
- Barack Obama, June 3rd, 2008

personally, i’ve found that in trying to verbalize support for barack obama, it is often much easier to resort to speaking out against the negative aspects of the mccain campaign. while that is occasionally necessary, as mccain and palin try to frame the ongoing debate and campaign dialogue with their demonization of obama, it is important to speak out in terms of why i support obama just on the issues alone.

i hope because:

• i believe america should end the war in iraq. this has nothing to do with raising a so-called “white flag of surrender”, but rather, bringing a responsible end to the criminal behavior that got us there in the first place. to date, this criminal occupation has caused the deaths of over 1 million iraqis, over 4 thousand american troops, and over 60 thousand injured. these numbers rival those of the mass killings of the last century, and exceed the 800-900 thousand believed killed in the rwandan genocide in 1994. my older brother alex is serving in iraq, and i want to see an administration that will bring him home honorably, restoring honor to our foreign policy, and allowing the iraqi government space to rebuild and restore their country. i believe barack obama’s plan for iraq will accomplish that.
• i believe the best way to bring about homeland security is with the use of diplomacy as described in obama’s foreign policy. mccain may give obama flack for meeting with foreign heads of state without preconditions, but i believe that shutting our eyes and ears to those who may oppose us while shouting threats of “bomb, bomb iran” is entirely irresponsible. more war is not the answer to security, and it will only weaken our economy even more. being a world power isn’t about being the world’s bully, but about showing the world we can also be a force for peace and diplomacy.
• i believe that america should be a leader in environmental conservation and development of green technologies, not a country that burns off more than 25% of the world’s oil with only 3% of its population just because it can. i believe that america can and should eliminate oil imports from the middle east and venezuela, not by finding new sources of oil to burn, but by reducing our oil consumption altogether, developing greener energy sources and technologies that create new jobs here at home and products we can export to the rest of the world, strengthening our economy and restoring our environment. i believe that barack obama and joe biden’s energy plan will accomplish that, giving our country and its children hope for a brighter future.
• i believe that america should spend its money for homeland security on things like education and health care for all americans, and i believe obama has great plans in place to accomplish those things. while mccain will distort this plan as “marxism” and “socialism”, his own plans are what i consider to be the worst form of socialism, which is the kind that only benefits the rich and doesn’t do anything to create jobs or benefit the average american. the american dream has always been about a free market, and the opportunity to succeed that is equal for all men and women, regardless of location or race or even disability. when the poor and the uninsured in our country cannot afford health care because a single doctor’s visit can cost them $1,000 or more, the american dream is no longer equally attainable by all. socialist policies have abounded in america for decades, from the roads we build, to the schools our children attend, to social security, medicare and so on, but the government spending on these programs should be able to be used by all americans if they need it. i strongly believe that obama’s plan will make the american dream possible once again.
• i believe that america needs a new economic plan that will promote fiscal responsibility in government, encourage corporations to keep jobs here in america, that will responsibly regulate the banking and insurance industries(especially in terms of predatory credit card and mortgage lending), that will stop giving never-ending tax cuts to the largest corporations while doing little or nothing for small business, ensure workers’ rights to organize unions, protect striking workers, and raise the minimum wage. our government should support working families, not limit their opportunities to make a decent living. let’s stop spending $10 billion a month on war, and let’s spend that money at home, creating jobs and investing in our future.

I HOPE BECAUSE CHANGE IS POSSIBLE.

i believe that, over the course of this campaign, barack obama has proven himself as not just an adequate, but an exceptional candidate for becoming president of the united states. i believe that his focus on the issues, his calmness while under attack, and his resolve to bring about positive change through negotiation and diplomacy is not just what i want in a candidate, but what america needs in a president. while even obama doesn’t embody all of my core beliefs, i believe the quote at the top of this post and the clip below show barack obama at his best: that he can withstand the smears of a campaign, the attacks of his enemies, the hatred of racists, and still maintain that this country still deserves something better - if only we will all work together, accepting the responsibility that comes with freedom.

to me, this isn’t socialism, it’s american spirit - proving that even through war, economic hardships, lack of proper health care and education, and increases in unemployment that all americans can come together and create a new direction to make this country better. not just better than the last 8 years, but better than ever before.

-stephen h, 10.27.2008

VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA. VOTE FOR CHANGE.

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Filed under: Links, News, Thoughts by stephen h @ 7:49 pm on October 27, 2008
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