Miss Lori’s vote is for real change

Last year I began talking to my youngest child, as I had previously done with my two older children, about the historic struggles of women and minorities and the great courage that many displayed in the past in their efforts to achieve equality and justice. Talking to her gave me pause. I wondered quietly who would stand up and face the fire hoses today should it be necessary. It has felt as though we had gone from a UNITED America to an America with concern only for the capitol “I”; that our Nation had lost its’ soul. Then came the campaigns for Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama and my fears were allayed. I am so thankful that my children are old enough to understand the significance of the political races before us. That they are able to see what America CAN BE as opposed to what America has been for their lifetime up until now.?

Though I was grateful for the choices before me I personally struggled for months trying to decide, as many democrats have recently, which candidate I thought would serve our country best going forward into the immediate future. Both Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barrack Obama are phenomenal political talents with a great love for their country and all of the people in it.? ?

I voted in the Illinois Primary on Super Tuesday. My vote was cast for Hillary Clinton. Despite what you may think, my vote for Senator Clinton was not a vote against Senator Obama. On the contrary, I want Senator Obama to be President… in 8 years.

The way I see it America has become very much like a long neglected garden that you might find in one of our yet to be gentrified neighborhoods here in Chicago. It is wrought with overgrown weeds and rocks of a failing economy, a horrific war and a ruined global position. Yet, before any seeds of promise and change can be planted, wrongs must be righted and the offending material must be cleared away. I feel, as many do, that Senator Barrack Obama is a planter. He is a breath of pure oxygen in a room that has been pumped full of Carbon Dioxide by the current administration. I long to see and experience all that he can bring to our country, the change that he can initiate. However, in order for Senator Obama to be free to plant we need Senator Clinton to come in with her bulldozer, comprised of her years of experience and her relationships both here and abroad, and clear out the rocks. She is the one to pull up the weeds and expose the fresh earth that will make planting possible. I do have a dream, but my wonderful parents taught me early that the only way to make dreams a reality is through planning, execution, hard work and good ole’ fashioned common sense. ?

America is in such a state of disarray, in my opinion, that it requires not one, but two great democratic candidates to restore its’ luster. And isn’t that what our Democratic party is about really… teamwork, community, a helping hand?? The primary races are not yet over. Although Senator Barrack Obama is in the lead with his many wins in the last week, Senator Hillary Clinton still has wind in her sails. Nevertheless, regardless of who the eventual nominee is it is my sincerest wish that we will come together as a party and beyond, uniting TOGETHER as a Community, with the courage necessary to marshal forward doing what needs to be done to get America back on track again. Let’s not forget, this will be an historic election either with a woman or a black man.

CHANGE is already here!

Let Your SMILE Shine On!TM?

Miss Lori