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The National Democratic Convention in late August sealed my vote for Barack Obama.

I was a Hillary Clinton fan but after hearing her and former President Bill Clinton’s speeches in favor of Obama, plus Obama’s own speech, I am positive that the next best candidate for the upcoming presidential election is Barack Obama.

I grew up in a home where my father was a Republican and my mother was a Democrat. As I became older, I enjoyed hearing the debates between them. As an adult I joined in with my own views on politics and society. All of my adult life I was able to speak my views to my parents without being chastised. However, my parents always voiced their views in return, both pro and con. I had great respect for their opinions.

I have tried to carry on this tradition with my own adult children. It is a rewarding and sometimes an enlightening conversation, but always something I enjoy. Of course Bernie and I also enjoy talking over issues, sometimes agreeing, sometimes not. But we’re always free to state our opinions openly.

An issue that interests me now is the issue of equal rights. Each time I say the “Pledge of Allegiance,” and recite the words “with liberty and justice for all,” I want them to ring true. My daughter and her life partner, and my son and his life partner, do not have the same rights. I don’t have a preference to the name given to their unions, but I do believe they deserve equal rights regarding insurance, Social Security, home ownership, health related decisions, hospital visitation, and equal rights after the death of one partner. This is America and equal rights under the Constitution are supposed to be guaranteed.

I understand the religious views on same sex unions, and I respect those. But there is a separation of church and state in America that should override any religious objection to equal rights. Allowing two individuals to join in a union for life will not undermine the sanctity of marriage. My marriage has never been affected by any other person’s union. Its meaning will not be changed by allowing gay couples to join in a union for life.

As far as the other issues at hand, I am opposed to the war in Iraq and have been since the beginning. This does not mean I do not support the troops or lack a love of America. This war was based on lies. Our government rushed into it when its citizens were mourning for the lives lost on 9/11. We need to get out of Iraq, and the newly-formed government of that country agrees.

Was it about the oil? I am not sure. However, I am all for hunting down Osama Bin Laden, the man whose strategy was responsible for planes crashing into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, but he isn’t in Iraq. Barack Obama wants to get Bin Laden, too.

So many innocent lives have been lost in Iraq. As the injured soldiers are returning home by the thousands, many haven’t been receiving the care they deserve. We need a leader who will take care of our veterans, not only from Iraq, but all of those soldiers who have sacrificed for our country. I believe Barack Obama is that man. He has said he will rebuild our military and veteran care. And he has repeatedly said that he will never send our troops to a war without the proper equipment or military plan. He has also said that military force should be used only as a last resort. Diplomacy should be first.

The economy in America has been slowing. I work retail and have witnessed this slow-down firsthand. In our own town of Vincennes we have witnessed businesses closing and numerous layoffs. We are a middle class town. Obama has promised to help the middle class workers. He has said he will even out the tax burden. Everyone, including the wealthy, will pay their fair share.

 Obama has said he will tax the companies outsourcing American jobs, which we hope will return jobs to Americans. He has said one of his goals is to make our country the leader in alternative energy development. He also wants to end our dependence on foreign oil.

In the next few weeks we will hear a lot of rhetoric about these issues. I have seen America grow and prosper with a Democratic president in office and I have seen America’s shortfalls with a Republican president.

I want to see Social Security’s future restored, the national debt to foreign countries paid down, the American dollar and our economy strengthened, America’s infrastructure repaired, the war ended, and care for veterans guaranteed. We need to regain our standing in the world by nurturing our relationships with other countries. I am for a better America and a better future for my family.

I am voting for Barack Obama.

 

Voting for Obama

More Nancy . . .

As I watched history unfold on Election night, I was taken back to a time when I was a young girl in Florida. My mother and I were at a small mom and pop grocery getting supplies for our fishing trip. My dad was filling the gas cans for our boat before we headed to the marina for a day of fishing and fun. Like every other kid, I had to “use it,” while we were there.

It was 1962, and public restrooms were still located outside the filling stations, as they were once called. Mom got the key from the clerk and we walked to the restroom on the side of the building. This was the first time I noticed that there were restrooms for men, women, and an additional one with a sign that said “colored.” I asked my mother why. She sighed and said that was just the way it was and to “hush up.”

When we came out of the women’s restroom I noticed there was a line of people at the restroom with the sign “colored” on it. I again spoke up, as I often did, questioning the reason why the ladies waiting couldn’t use the restroom we just came out of, and I asked my mother to give them the key. My mother looked down at me and said, “I can’t.” As usual, I asked, “why?” My mother paused, and the ladies in line smiled at me. I just didn’t understand. Mom took my hand and walked me to the car. I asked her again, “why?” She looked at me, sighed, and again replied that it was just the way it was. I remember this vividly. This is my first memory of racism. This was the day that I noticed people were different colors and that color somehow made a difference. But I didn’t understand why.

Today when I look back, I realize how hard it must have been for my mother to try to explain to me, a young child, why the ladies at that restroom couldn’t share ours. She always taught me to share and here was a time when she told  me I couldn’t.

 A few years later, my parents told me they needed to have a talk with me. They said that colored children would be coming to our junior high school. I just said OK, and shrugged it off. I didn’t really give it much thought, and I wondered what the big deal was. My father sat me down and told me there would be men from the army there to make sure nothing happened. I sat there quietly for a moment, thinking.  And, of course, in my usual way, I asked “why?” My parents just looked at me and sighed, as they sometimes did when I questioned them. They did their best to explain that some people were upset about colored children coming to the school. I again asked “why?” and I got the same answer, “that’s just the way it is.”

Tuesday I watched as Americans stood together and elected a president; he is not a black president, nor a white president, but a good man who will bring the change our country needs. Of course history will write that Barak Obama was the first African-American elected to the office of president. I see it in a different light. He also is a man whose father was black and whose mother was white, a man brought up without prejudice, and a man who has helped to bridge the gap among races.

When I saw the sea of people that came out in Chicago on November 4, 2008 to witness Obama’s “Change has come to America” speech, I was so proud to be an American. At that moment I realized that my granddaughters will have a country to live in that is overcoming the color barriers that have held us back. My heartfelt belief that we are all equal is being realized. My mother’s words from so long ago, “that’s just the way it is,” are fading.

The America we created this presidential Election Day is a monumental day for all Americans. It is the day we became one. Our grandchildren will make great strides in their lifetimes because we put aside the prejudice of “color” and put forth the importance of unity. We can be assured that our grandchildren will move this country forward, and will never have to doubt that we all are created equal. They will work together without prejudice because we finally have taken the first step to overcome ours. We have broken down the walls that held us back and stepped forward for change.

This is the start of a new era for America.

 

A new America

White Christmas

“I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.”

My dad always sang that song to me this time of year. Daddy played the piano, guitar and harmonica, and my mom played the violin. My daughter plays the clarinet, my son the drums and piano. Me, I can pick around on the guitar and piano a bit, although I haven’t played for years.

Our family liked playing and singing. I guess you could say our family was slightly “hammy.” My children grew up surrounded by music sing-alongs and I believe they were enriched by it.

When my parents became “snow birds” in the 80’s and headed to Florida the last Saturday of October and not returning until late April, my father always called me during the holidays to sing “I’ll Have a Blue Christmas Without You.” I miss those calls. Yet somehow I can still hear his baritone voice serenading me this time of year.

Having grown up in Florida, I didn’t get to see snow until I was a teenager. The first year we moved here there was a lot of snow. I went sledding for the first time on a big hill at the Elks Club. The hill was a bit crowded with classmates and I didn’t realize how fast a sled traveled down the hill. Of course I wiped out the first time and rolled down the hill. It was a great adventure for me. The only thing I didn’t like about sledding was the climb back up the hill. It’s funny how you recall things as you age and how those memories warm your heart.

 The first time I saw snow I was amazed at the way it sparkled in the light. The flakes were beautiful as they filled the sky I had never seen anything like it. I still love to watch the snow fall, and afterwards it is so quiet and peaceful.

The blizzard we experienced here in the late 1970s was when I realized that snow also has a bad side. I was working the night shift at Kroger’s and we were closing up when it was announced that officials were closing the highways. The snow drifts that year were the biggest I had ever seen. I made it home; but along the way I gained a new respect for the winter weather in Indiana.

Lately we haven’t had many snows. My granddaughters always wait for the one big enough to build a snowman, and a chance to ride their plastic sleds down the hill behind their home. Their excitement when the weatherman predicts snow always fills my heart with my own memories.

I used to harness my horse and let her pull me on my sled through the snow in the field near our home. One time the top of the snow froze so hard you could walk on it without falling through, so my little brother and I took the blades off our water skies, got a couple old broken shovel handles, and proceeded down the hill in front of our home behind Hillcrest Park. And when it iced, we’d ride our freshly waxed metal runner sleds down the road by the old Hillcrest Hospital. Of course you had to avoid the concrete ditch, and there were times when you wiped out, but it was still a good time. I still have my sled, a ‘Silver Streak.” I’m not sure I’d attempt a sled ride today.  Maybe I’d try it on a small hill. Of course I’d probably be too sore to move the next day. But maybe I could….

The holidays always bring the return of warm memories, and as usual I’m dreaming of a white Christmas. Perhaps this year I’ll get my wish.