2009 - A New Era

First off let me say to those who are reading... "Happy New Year - 2009!!!" I know, I am a little late at saying that, since the first month of the year is practically over, but as they say "better late, than never!"

For me, 2009 is more than a new year, it's a new era.

The country has a new president. He is the first person elected to that office with a skin color darker than all of those before him; not that his skin color has any impact on his qualifications for the job, or whether or not he is a good man. I hope that he is qualified, and a good man, but I even after the longest campaign in history, I am not sure I can claim to know his qualifications or character. I am, however, delighted that the country is able to elect a person based on their words, ideas, and character instead of looking solely at the exterior (age, gender, and skin color).

My hope is that our new President does in fact improve our country and create an atmosphere of togetherness without creating any more of a burden on the population such as new taxes, regulations, or more government. My hope is that he reduces the government involvement in our lives, which will in turn allow the individuals in our population to rise to the challenges our country faces without hindrances, and foster an culture where anyone can and will achieve greatness. Great people are found in more places than just our government!

My concern is that we may have in fact elected our new president based on his exterior or an "image", or the exterior of the man running against him (age). Our new president's first week in office have been filled with executive orders (rules and regulations), proposals and promises of more government spending/involvement. His speeches are grand and wonderful, but do not seem to coincide with his actions. He speaks of all the things I hope for, but he implements all of the things I am concerned about.

Barack Obama is my President, and like all citizens of this country, I have the right to voice my opinion and even disagree with the direction and plans our president is implementing. I haven't used that right to speak about our president that frequently. I also will admit that I agreed more often with our previous president, although I didn't always, especially in the last two years. I am hopeful that ideas and situations will arise in the future that I will agree with our new president, but unfortunately those times are not now.

Before I do express my opinions I want to say I will not use "name calling," or "put downs" to express my disagreement. I feel that any person that works towards and succeeds to the office of President of the United States of America, deserves the highest respect, unlike the untold number of people who did not respect our previous president. I am ashamed of those people, and ashamed that friends, family and fellow countrymen could be that petty. I think that anyone that "name calls" a person, especially one who achieved the presidency of our country, just illustrates their own shortcomings. My initial concern on election night was that this same "pettiness" may have tainted the objectiveness of the voters. I truly hope that concern is unwarranted.

I call this a new "era" because for me "change" is also personal to me, but not because of the new president. This new era starts with lots of changes in my life: a new job, a new home, and practically a whole new life. My concern is whether or not this life is better than the one in the previous year (or era), but my hope is as with the new president, that the troubling signs at the start of this new era will only be for the short term, and not of the long term future.