Hope

I am not usually an emotional person (although, I do cry at the sappiest movies). I was more overcome by paranoid worry than joy on Election Day. The insane McCain supporters who made the headlines (and who won't go away... Joe) had me worried about a loud, boorish portion of our country. The pomp of Inauguration Day went by in silence as I watched C-Span. Listening to CNN talk of 10-disk CD changers in the bullet-proof limos or to Fox News lionizing Bush one last time drove me to the preferable silence of the C-Span feed.

I have never been one of the Hope-filled Change-meisters marching to the beat of a charismatic leader, though I did campaign for the guy.

Instead, I was waiting for something besides inspirational words (and inspiring they are). I was waiting for an action.

As I read that President Obama signed an order to shut down Guantanamo and quit torture practices, I was overcome with emotion. I cried. That our country no longer stands for torture and illegal detention, that our country respects human life, that our country is moving to be better than its enemies... I was overcome. Finally, I felt relief, pride, and yes, even hope.