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This week an African American man became President of these United States because of the efforts of progressive and hopeful people willing to stand up, speak out and vote. No act of a higher being can be proven to have realized this amazing moment in this critical and dangerous time.
The crowds, people, a cold glorious day and a new President who speaks eloquently is so refreshing it seems surreal. For this proud Progressive and humanist, this day has been a long time coming. Perhaps Change is coming. I've not waited nearly as long as African Americans, but I sense they are experiencing something similar. I can't quite say I'm convinced a Progressive is now in the White House, but what a fantastic opportunity such a Progressive reality could be.
I feel this new reality will require us to set aside our faith and belief, and work to make it so. Folks, we have to learn to dance, for we know Obama can, and one of us has got to lead the other. We've been leading with our ideas for years, bringing the candidates along as followers is our job.
Looking back for a moment, let us thank those who helped get us here. To this starting place, this new beginning, Obama has referenced, the many people who for lifetimes have had to endure and struggle against such incredible odds and oppression, to bring up their decendants, us, with the possibilities of a brighter future that perhaps has arrived today for our nation.
Two men in particular, I also believe, deserve thanks for their willingness to speak out and move us to stay the course: Keith Olbermann and John Edwards. Both men, in their own flawed and eloquent ways, spoke out about what was wrong and suggested strongly how to fix it. They were right, and still are; they spoke for us and now we will see what President Obama and the Democrats will do.
What they must now do is bring our troops home, create green jobs while ending our wasteful ways, establish clean trustworthy elections, remove corruption from politics once and for all, reestablish the full power and honor of the Constitution and reinvest in our Nation by rebuilding our infrastructure and restructuring our health care, education, transportation, energy and banking systems.
Yes, I said reestablish the Honor of the Constitution. The people of the nation expect nothing less than acting to repair the damage of the last decade plus of failed Republican and Conservative ideological dogma. The GOP, which now stands for Gone, Over, Past, is just that. Good riddance. We must not let stand their abuses for the precedent it would set, so we must hold those who acted criminally accountable. Our credibility as a nation is at stake.
Now, let me say I was frustrated by the constant reference to a mythical being by the preachers and the new President himself the last few days. This constant reference to a god is a new thing, something that lingers as the last vestiges of the now dead campaigns of manipulation by the radical and religious right. Our nation, for nearly all of its history except for the last 30 years, has never pressed religious belief as criteria for patriotism or reason for our success. It was always a personal and private element for the individual, and its absence in our discourse worked well to keep us well mannered. By its absence, it allowed us to respect each other - not qualify and define ourselves by our differences.
Make no mistake; the use of religion has been used to divide us by the like of Karl Rove, Pat Robertson & Jerry Fallwell. Obama may be using it now to bring us together, yet his reference to Non-Believers like myself is not going to heal the damage alone. We must move toward mutual respect of all rational people and remove the specter of an unproven belief as a guide to manipulate the masses in any form. It is time to let go of fears and religious beliefs where politics and government are concerned..
President Obama made these comments in his Inaugural speech that brought confidence even to me that we can find another way.
"What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more."
I pledge to do my part to give this President, this Democratic Party, and this Congress 100 days to prove to me those words are to be taken seriously. I so want to trust that their abilities and hearts will match my expectations.
But let me also be clear, if within those 100 days before us now, this group who failed to hold those before them accountable, fail to act and live up to our expectations they have implied to us, we will respond with our voices, our letters, our emails our phone calls and our vote. For it is not up to President Barack Obama, or any mythical god to ultimately make this world better, it is up to US to make Freedom Ring.
No god, or whatever mythical being some think lives above or around us, will save us, or had anything to do with where we are today. Stupidity, fear, theft and crooks did that. It is once again our responsibility to get our nation back on track. It requires eternal vigilance, constant awareness, mindfulness, action and truthful communication to keep the feet of those in power to the flame of the Progressive cause of justice and fairness. We can now be proud again of our nation, not because of some unknown being we sense has power over our world, but because we now may have a President who won't leave us to chance, deceit or whim, as did the last one.
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