Got Hope?

I hope that I'm wrong in concluding that Obama will do our country much harm in leading it away from some of the precepts of our fathers:

The right to be left alone. I'd like to continue homeschooling without any interference from the state "just checking to make sure everything's ok." Hey, I have two children in public school and like the almost all the staff who deal with Patrick and G. I just don't want bureaucrats to have any authority over my homeschool. You have your kids, and I have mine. Good luck to ya. Our family decided public school was best for the older children, and the younger ones are at home. Not that that's any of yer bizzness if you run the local school. :p

Thou shalt not murder. Kinda a basic precept, and not one the Bush administration followed, either. (just saying... OK, now all my Republican friends are gonna jump me in the comment section) I'm not eeeeven going to get into Leviticus or the New Testament, because a lot of "that stuff" has been legal here for some time and has nothing to do with Obama. (just saying... OK, I'm really going to get pigpiled now)

Thou shalt not steal. Sure, LEGALLY, it's perfectly OK to take all of Jason's money and give it to Grandma, Grandpa, Joe, Jack, Jacob and 5,000 other people if Grandma, Grandpa, Joe, Jack, Jacob and 5,000 other people voted for it and only Jason voted against. But it's wrong. Past a certain point, you have to admit things get a bit ridiculous. I'm nowhere near rich (at all!), but I have to say just another small tax and another and another, and you're going to kill a lot of enterprising businesses in this country. And I want my husband to be able to keep his job and not rely on Jason for everything in this world.

Hey, though it would be even nicer if Jason were generous and GAVE us his money, but I dare not hope for too much... I like to at least pretend to be grounded in reality. Sometimes.

First Amendment rights. I firmly believe that freedom of speech, and of the press, and the freedom to worship as one chooses are all part of the First Amendment for a reason. Expression of religious, political and philosophical ideas are all related. Hey, if my pastor wants to endorse Obama in the next election, I don't see why he can't do that on Sunday morning without any troubles from the IRS. It's still a free enough country that if I don't like what I'm hearing in my church, there are about 20 others in a ten-mile radius I could attend. Maybe more.

All men are created free and equal. We have not arrived at perfection, but can we at least get to the point where *most* people in liberal circles will admit we don't need affirmative action programs? Obama got in to the Presidency, and last I checked that wasn't an affirmative action position for which he received preferential treatment. Sure, there are probably a couple racists out there not giving out jobs to black folks. But bet ya there are a few black racists not giving out jobs to whites. Can we please all be Americans now? Does Obama have to *just* be the "first black president?" Can't he just be "President Obama?" I mean, I understand the significance of his election, but sometimes, I look at the news and go... isn't that patronizing? As if to say, oh, Obama did a nice job getting elected... for a black person. Well, maybe I'm the only person that bothers, but I think that's just a little condescending.

I appreciated Obama's comments during the election process when this or that would come up and people would squawk that it was unfair, that he knew it was "just politics." I appreciated that he didn't ask for special treatment because of his colour. The fact that there were some harsh jabs on BOTH sides of the political spectrum during this process, I think, sheds light on the fact that most of us saw past the exterior and voted for the people we thought would most reflect our values. For that, I'm proud of our country. I just wish a lot of people made a different choice.

Do you have a hope list? I'm sure I have more, but Woodjie has a squishy bottom and needs a change, bless him. So I'm logging off for now. I think his toes need nibbling, too. :]