Dare to dream

Last night, we got a glimpse of what could shortly become our reality. Not only a black president in our lifetime, but a black first lady too.

I am sure it is no secret who we are supporting in this campaign, but nonetheless, I am hesitant to "go there" on our blog. So I am taking the plunge...and if you're not interested in reading about politics, which I can totally respect, please just skip this post and tune back in next week when I am back to blogging about the weather and our new life here in Tulsa.

We are fired up and are watching the DNC on TV, uninterrupted by commentary on C-SPAN. This is a first for both of us. A first for us to be truly part of the political process. Until now, we've pretty much just voted along party lines. And we've been satisfied in the fact that at least we've even bothered to get out and vote, when so many of our friends and colleagues don't. And it's not because they are uneducated or ignorant about the issues. It's because they're apathetic and don't believe in the political process or that their one vote could ever make a difference.

I think that this change in us has also come about for many others in our age "demographic". Maybe that's because we're no longer in age bracket where the biggest concern is targeting our interests in things like new video games and music sales. But I think it's also because now, more than ever before in our lifetimes, we have so much on the line in this election.

Gas has more than quadrupled since we've gained our driver's licences. We've seen our friends with good educations unable to find decent paying jobs. We hear about the struggles that young families have to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads and we seriously wonder if we'll ever be able to own a home of our own, let alone raise a family. And we worry about our parents, as they enter their golden years, and whether they will be able to get the affordable medical care they'll need or if they'll have a decent retirement after working their entire lives to provide us with the opportunities that they never had.

Our generation has only ever had the chance to vote for a Clinton or Bush and have only known life with a Bush or Clinton in the White House. Well, technically, Jimmy Carter was in office when I was born, but the first presidential ticket that I remember is Reagan-Bush. That said, we are on the cusp of a huge paradigm shift in this country. In one generation we've gone from segregated schools in Selma, Alabama to a black presidential candidate in Denver, Colorado. That is incredible! And amazing! And scary for a lot of the folks who are used to keeping things as they've always been. I, for one, hope we're ready to embrace our hope rather than cling to our fears (as Michelle Obama so eloquently stated last night) and dare to dream for real change. Our lives as we know them and our futures as we wish them to be, depend upon it.