By miller727@icloud.com September 12, 2016 Uncategorized 1 Comment
Presidential campaigns are traditionally built around the theme of hope for America’s future.
In 1960, John F Kennedy told Americans that “it was a time for greatness.”
16 years later, Gerald Ford told us he would make America proud again.
Reagan extorted in 1984 that it was “morning again in America.”
George HW Bush promised a “kinder, gentler” America in 1988.
In 1992, Bill Clinton told us all “he still believed in a place called Hope.”
George W. Bush remarked in 2004 that he wanted “a safer world and more hopeful America.”
Four years later, President Barack Obama provided America with a message focused on the dueling themes of hope and change.
This year, Hillary Clinton claims to be the candidate “for America” while Donald Trump vows to “make America great again.”
It is an article of faith — literally, our secular American faith — that our best days always lie ahead. It’s what we have wanted our leaders to tell us and what we want to believe.
Thus, we place our hope in elected politicians to actually do what they profess to believe.
And we hope.
Hope is a powerful emotion. It can also be elusive and fleeting.
So far in the 2016 presidential campaign cycle, the mood in both major political parties and among the electorate as a whole is one of anger, division, wariness and resentment.
By a 2-1 margin, Americans now believe that our country is on the “wrong track.”
The need for hope has never been greater.
I suggest that perhaps we are looking for hope in the wrong places.
Or, to put it another way, maybe in the wrong faces.
Sorry if I offend anyone, but this is NOT the image of hope in America:
This is also NOT the image of hope in America:
If you are genuinely seeking hope for the future of our great nation, look to those who will take the roles of leadership after we are gone.
This is what HOPE looks like to me.
America can be great. We can be strong and compassionate. We can be inclusive.
This is a time for greatness in America.
With children, it is always morning again. We can be kinder and gentler to one another.
And, as Americans, we can still believe in a place called Hope.
Hope and change come from us, each one of us. They do not come from politicians or policies.
This is the lesson we should teach our children during this election.
Hope. It starts with you. God put it there. Use it.