why i'm voting for obama

I just want to clear up exactly why it is that I'm voting for Obama . . .

While there are a lot of reasons, such as his plans for Iraq, education, renewable energy, etc., the main reason I'm voting for him and not McCain is that I truly believe that out of the two of them, he is more likely to be an instigator of change in both our government and our fellow citizens. Also, I believe he could drastically improve our international image, as he does represent a different America than George Bush has represented to the world. (My German friend, Adam, who spent the summer in Berlin, told me that everyone in Germany loves Obama and is hoping he will win.)

It's not that I think McCain is a bad person. I respect him and what he's done for our country; however, I cannot bring myself to vote for someone who has sided with George Bush 90% of the time . . . not to mention that I am not nearly as conservative in my views as Sarah Palin, who believes in doing things like banning books from public libraries. Not cool, Sarah. Our country believes in something called "freedom of speech."

I realize that Obama doesn't have a perfect record -- but neither does John McCain. Obama has been involved in earmarking, but a lot of that money was for non-profits. Sure, maybe he shouldn't have been participating in those kinds of activities, but I would rather see our federal money spent on giving to the less fortunate than building a bridge to nowhere.

Today my dear friend Kell wrote a blog that I feel really reflected my views on this race. Here it is . . .

At least in the United States, I don’t believe who the leader is, is as important as their ability to inspire and motivate the people. Any politician (or leader), is just another person who will get stuck in the quagmire that is government, unless they can get the people involved on a large scale. The United States was founded on, "Of the people, by the people, and for the people" and THAT is its real genius.

Unfortunately, for too long we have been content with letting the government do its thing while the people do theirs…and we wonder why we are in such a mess with minimal accountability. If/when the people, en masse, become active and engaged, THEN things will happen… because as long as we look to our leaders to do the work for us, we are missing the point.

Obama's ability to get large masses of people off their asses, riled up, excited, and engaged in local and national communities is the one thing that gives me hope. If he wins and can sustain that motivation and excitement in the American people, at least then we will be working together to create our future. And, as far as I am concerned, a better future will only happen if we all work together to create it, not if we wait for the government to do so.

Of course, McCain/Palin’s current ability to get people riled up and involved to win the election worries me, because I haven’t yet seen where that involvement extends beyond November 4th. If it is simply a motivation to win, no more…then after the elections I fear we will settle back into apathy and continue to fall apart as a country and as Americans, together.