Below The Fold

Another year.
I learned some valuable lessons in 2006.
I learned that I’ve got a pretty decent family.
I’ve learned that not everyone else does.
2007 starts off as most years do. Flush with expectation, rife with promise, buoyed by hope. Hope is the most important trait a new year offers; without the first two, hope can still be more than enough. Expectation and promise are often shallow and empty, and the older we get, the more we know that to be true. But hope is humanity and life. Hope breathes life into the dying. Hope brings years to the terminally ill man who has only days. Hope builds civilizations.
I have plenty of hope.
I hope that I’ll continue to grow into being a better man. I hope that my marriage will continue to grow stronger. I hope that my career continues to grow unimpeded. I hope that my health and the health of my loved ones holds strong. I hope that life continues unfettered.
The best part of all the things I hope for: I’m in control of each and every one of them. For hope without work is fantasy. Hope needs sweat equity to flourish into success. Something I learned years ago that only continues to be truer with each passing year: You are where you want to be.
I’ve been reading a great book. It was a Christmas gift from my Mother-in-law. I suspect she smelled a liberal in the making, which is why she bought it for me; that, and the fact that I mentioned my high regard for its author. It’s called the Audacity of Hope, and it was written by Barack Obama.
I’m not a Democrat. I’m still a registered Republican, although my party has moved so far right, I find myself firmly entrenched in the Center. And that’s a bad word to both sides. But my beliefs in liberty and the rights of the individual are something of a novelty to the Right these days. And that saddens me. And I’m looking and hoping that 2008 finds a leader coming to the front of the room who has it all. A man (or woman) who respects the beliefs held so fervently on both sides of the aisle. A man who understands that the right to bear arms is just as important to so many in this country as the right to choose who someone can designate as their assigned dependent for the purposes of tax relief and insurance coverage. A man who sees why it’s important to maintain a clear division of church and state while understanding where the spirit of the laws that govern this nation sprang from. A man who finds poverty and the lack of health coverage for the poor as audacious as unchecked taxation on the rich that stifles economic growth and development. A man who values the right to privacy as much as the need to protect our borders. A man like Barack Obama.
I’m not in agreement with many of his policies. But I absolutely believe in his conviction and fortitude. I’m convinced his moral compass is strong, and his optimism is utterly captivating.
Read his book. Then try and tell me why he wouldn’t be a great president.
I have the audacity to hope that 2007 will be a better year. I hope you do, too.