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Alexandra Pelosi was on The Rachel Maddow show Fri. night, talking about her soon to be broadcast documentary on the recent presidential race. She attended a number of McCain/Palin rallies, filming and interviewing the people that came to see the Republican ticket. There was lots of anger, shouting, and even a fight leading Pelosi to make the statement that there really are two parallel Americas trying to exist as one. I understand completely the point she was making but like Maddow, I simply disagree. As the President has stated over and over, “we are not just a red America or blue America but one America”. We are conservatives, liberals, gays, straights, Latinos, African Americans, as well as Africans, white, red, yellow, and brown. We are laborers, professionals, too many religions to list, poor, rich, and yet we are all Americans. Somehow, we have got to put that at the top of the list, and party affiliations, regional differences, religious differences, must remain secondary to our national heritage. Those that have been called to military service, be it WWI or Iraq, did so to defend not a religious belief but rather the ideal of what it means to be an American. For the first time in many years, the night Barack Obama was elected as our president I had the overwhelming feeling of pride. After 8 years of lies, deceit, our Constitution being trashed, the people spoke loud and clear and said no more. But, as the president said that very night, 48 % did not vote for him but that he would be their president also and would work to earn their vote.
If we look at some of the most divisive issues, abortion, and marriage rights, Pelosi’s point of two Americas seems to fit and therein lays the problem. It is the absolute certainty that each side believes they are right and the other side is wrong. So, how do we get from here to there? Perhaps a beginning would be to remind each of us, that country must be put first. That is, our personal beliefs must be subjugated for the whole and the whole is our country. As the pastor TD Jakes said, we are not a Christian nation as we have Jews, Moslems, Buddhists, Hindus, and non-believers, along with Christians. Our Constitution guarantees us that we can worship and hold any belief system that we want and it also protects those that have no belief system. We can argue, disagree, shout, go to court, vote, write letters, and demonstrate but in the end, we must remember that first is the fact that we are all Americans. We make mistakes as a nation, and we make mistakes as individuals but we are capable of learning as a nation, as well as individuals. This is the strength of our country.
There are those that say, “the end is near”, there is nothing left but doom and I reject that. There are those that say our new President is simply a pawn for a powerful few and I reject that. Like Lincoln, who came at a time when the nation was in peril of breaking apart, Barack H. Obama has come at a similar time. This unlikely man, child of a single mother, raised in part by grandparents, not really knowing a father, has become President of the United States. A few short years ago he was un-known and today he is one of the most recognized faces in the world. We face some very hard times ahead, perhaps in its own way, just as hard as Lincoln faced but I cannot think of a single leader that I would rather have at the helm of the ship of state. “I know Mr. President there will be mistakes made because you have already told us so. You have also said that you and we, will learn form those mistakes and we will carry on. I may disagree with some of your decisions and I will feel free to let you know but I will not lose confidence in you.” I think you are a man of unique ability, generous in spirit, perhaps the most eloquent speaker in our history and maybe, most importantly a man of good heart. I know you will do everything within your power to lead us out of this dark place, back to America at it’s best. You said recently regarding the stimulus bill, “Do not let seeking perfection stand in the way of the essential” and I believe that also applies to other issues. Perfection is always a lofty goal, but one that fails in the job because of seeking perfection, serves nothing but their own ego. My pledge to you and my fellow Americans is I will do everything in my power to examine all sides of the issues, to remember there is always another side, to speak clearly and civilly, and remember, “Yes we can”.
