The coming months...

I was driving home today listening to talk radio, as a caller was exclaiming how it's only been 4 years since 9-11 (caller was a bit off on this), and she can't believe that we would elect a man named Barack Hussein Obama. I expect we have only heard the beginning of racism in this campaign. And it brought to light some of my deepest feelings about this election.

Yes, there is the risk, maybe a great risk, that Obama will lose just because of his skin color or name. He stands for some of the highest principles we have, that of the self made man, and not judging a man by how he was born. They are high because they are so easily knocked down. In a sense, I welcome all of this ignorance. It is an opportunity, an opportunity for the highest principles to be shown on sharp contrast with the fear this woman displayed. I've been reading about Gandhi and Martin Luther King recently. The idea of meeting violence with non-violence, of not humiliating your opponent to allow him to keep his dignity. Of the racist Southern governor who responded to non-violent protests & prayer with fire hoses and police dogs, but the firemen fell back weeping at the obviousness of their wrong.

I believe that this type of opportunity to change hearts and minds will be present over the coming months. That to me, and probably many of Obama's supporters, rings truer to my heart than policies, cult of personality, etc. The "Change" so often spoken about has a much different meaning in this context. And the forces against this type of change are even greater than the standard type of change. And that's exactly why you may see an unprecedented movement behind Mr. Obama, as well as against him. It may turn out to be a hell of a cause...