Monday, November 3, 2008

With hope

I voted last Tuesday afternoon, casting an absentee ballot at the Board of Elections in anticipation of the work and travel that will keep me away from the polls tomorrow. Without comment on any of the other issues and races on the ballot, it will come as no surprise I suppose when I tell you that I voted, freely and proudly, to elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States.

I will not directly encourage you to do the same. Voting in a democratic republic is a sacred right, and it is also an intensely personal one. To me, the most important thing is that you do it: inform yourself, engage yourself and then vote in accord with your mind, heart and beliefs. If they differ from mine, well, that too is a sacred right which we rightly fiercely defend. If we differ in thought, so long as those differences are expressed deliberately, thoughtfully and—most importantly—respectfully, then you and I will be find each other to be good and challenging company.

Respect, along with an effort to move beyond and above the coarseness that has attended campaigning for the presidency in recent years, is what I have seen in Barack Obama. Respect for his opponents, respect for the deep and deeply-felt differences among the people of this country, respect for the democratic and diplomatic processes upon which our nation is based, respect for thought and debate, respect for language and learning—all of these are things I believe we as a nation need to embrace and should see in our leadership. Not fear. Not threats. Not anger. Ultimately, policies and promises aside, it is what I see of Senator Obama's respect for the American democratic ideal that has brought me to support him, his seemingly whole and heartfelt belief in and embrace of what we are and what we strive ever to be: good.

We live in difficult times but, truly, it has ever been so. The election of one man, or one Congress, or the passage of one bill, or the enactment of one measure will not fix what divides or troubles us. But it is a beginning. And if there is to be what has been so often promised by so many during the past few months, if there is to be change, then it will not happen on November 5. It will not happen by pitting red against blue. It will not happen at all, unless we do it together.

I don't know if Barack Obama can bring us together as a nation. But I do know that his candidacy and his promised dedication represent the best opportunity I've seen for it to happen in my lifetime.

Whether you agree or not, I hope you'll take time tomorrow to do what I did last week: please, vote.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

I did

I have returned from my neighborhood polling place, delighted to have seen it bustling. In today's Democratic primary, I voted for Barack Obama.

Over the past several weeks, my friends and I have discussed and debated the merits of the various Democratic presidential hopefuls. Among us, I am one of the few who decided finally to vote for Obama. Here's why: On most matters of substance, both Senators Clinton and Obama have similar or, in many cases, identical policy positions. They may differ in their tactics or "plans", but I would feel comfortable supporting either in a general election.

I admire Senator Clinton a great deal and respect her experience. She is incredibly poised, well spoken, clearly intelligent and passionate. But after having heard her speak on several occasions, I did not feel that passion. She did not completely make her vision for America into mine.

Senator Obama did, from the very first time I heard him give a major speech, at the Democratic Convention four years ago. His intellect and experience are one thing, but his words, his power of oratory are quite another. As a writer and as an individual involved in the theatre, I know the power of words to change worlds. Deeds are necessary, but words are catalysts. This is no small thing, not a superficial distinction. It is the reason I was far more inspired by and hopeful for a Bartlet presidency than a Bush one. But is one thing to have benefit of both poise and good writers. It is another to be able to take words and transform them into hope.

This country needs a sound economic policy. This country needs a path away from war. This country needs well-compensated teachers, well-fed children, and well-employed workers. This country needs the equality of its promise in practice. But what America needs, more than any of these things, is hope.

If you're in a state holding a primary today and you have not already, go out and vote. Vote for the candidate who gives you hope, whomever that may be. For me, it is Senator Barack Obama.