In just under one week, we will be electing the next president of the United States. Barring any last minute surprises - with the current administration almost anything seems possible - it appears that person will be Sen. Barack Obama.
The challenges facing President Obama may be unprecedented in our history, two wars, global warming, fuel crises, world hunger and poverty, and an economy threatening to spiral out of control. He will need foresight, insight, tenaciousness, and the Wisdom of Solomon - all attributes I'm inclined to think are at his disposal.
He will need to surround himself with the best and brightest people our country can muster, and I believe he will. More importantly, I think he will listen to his advisors.
Why anyone would aspire to this job eludes me. No matter who the president is, or what decisions they make, they will be pilloried by the opposition. Yet there is never a shortage of aspirants for the job.
This president, perhaps more than any in the past, save Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt, will need the help of every citizen in the nation; not just those who voted for him, or those within his party, but everyone.
I could be wrong - I think I was once before, but I'm probably wrong about that. But some of the problems facing us: climate change, energy, environment, and the economy are going to require participation and sacrifice on the part of all our citizens.
We may be asked to drive less, or for those financially able, to move to more fuel-efficient cars. We may be asked to step up our recycling efforts, or to give up our plastic shopping bags at the supermarket. If we haven't already done so, we may be asked to change all our light bulbs to compact fluorescents. And, we may be asked to revise our spending habits, moving away from overuse of credit cards.
I'm not smart enough to know what all the solutions may be to our problems, but I do know that no one man or woman sitting in the Oval Office can do it alone.
We have a long history of coming together in times of crisis, across party lines, across religious divides, and surmounting the great challenges that have faced us in the past. I'm convinced we can do it again, and that to regain our status in the world, and to regain a sense of balance at home, we have to pull together behind a strong leader.
It probably won't be easy - change seldom is. Most of us are comfortably ensconced in our lives. Certainly, most of us in Magnolia live a pretty damn nice life, and we may not like making some of the changes that I'm convinced we will be asked to make, but in the whole scheme of things, our sacrifices are small, and if we consider ourselves patriotic Americans, that means more than flying a flag on Memorial and Independence days, or wearing a flag lapel pin.
I don't know what President Obama will ask of me or you, but I have no doubt we will be called on to play a key role in righting the ship of state, and each of us needs to begin thinking now about making a commitment to participate on whatever level we can, be it community service, supporting charities, or simply changing our personal lifestyle a little to address some of the problems we face.
We will not only help ourselves and our nation, but show the world once again that instead of a divided nation that spends its time bickering, that the U.S is a great nation that can move mountains when called to do so, and that we still are one nation, indivisible, that believes in the welfare of all its citizens over the comforts of a few.[[In-content Ad]]
