Hope and Red Berries

With the temperature up to 60˚F today, I spent an hour or so outside raking the side yard, trying to get the bulk of the leaves into the compost pile before they get buried in snow. (I'm hoping to get the front yard done tomorrow, whereupon I will consider the job DONE.) On my way back to the house, I was stopped in my tracks by the red berries on a bush. Gray skies and bare trees made these berries stand out like runway lights along the path. So of course I had to go in and get my camera.

Now I have the election coverage on TV in the background while I upload the photos—you can check them out in the slideshow at the bottom of the page, if you'd like to see what I saw. Normally, without James at home (he's still at a church meeting), I'd never have election coverage on at this early hour when there isn't anything to report yet. But this is the first presidential election in my life that I've felt actually has a truly positive choice, not just an o.k. choice or the lesser of two poor choices—I felt for the first time the full privilege of casting my vote today—so I want to be part of the whole process. Even though the commentators don't have anything to report yet. It's just exciting to witness the event as it takes place across the country (and the world—they had a report from London with some ex-pats there).

Whatever the outcome, I'm glad to have finally experienced a political contest that really matters. Having come of age right around the time of Watergate, along with the persistent war in Vietnam, followed by the Iran-Contra travesty and the rest of the 1970s, '80s, and '90s bullshit, I've never had much confidence in American politics. And American politicians haven't given me much reason to change that opinion. But Barack Obama has presented a consistently different approach based on integrity, long-term creative thinking, respect for all (including his opponents), and optimism. Hope, not fear. That's a huge difference from most of American politics for most of my life. Cold war paranoia shaped my early experience of politics in America, and sadly John McCain continues to operate in that mode. Barack Obama has a completely different take on what this world is capable of, given the right resources and encouragement, and he is committed to providing those resources and that encouragement.

I almost never proclaim my political views publicly because I don't like to provoke arguments with those who disagree with me, and there are so many other aspects to people that matter more to me than who they vote for, and political disagreements tend to put a crimp in relationships. A crimp I find unnecessary. Some of my best friends are McCain supporters! As Jesus says, "You will know them by their fruits," and my McCain-ite friends have terrific fruits. I still hope Obama wins, but mostly it's great to see so many people engaged, with so much to be engaged in! It brings me some hope for American politics, a hope I've never had before.