You had to have been there

William Ayers was interviewed by Chris Cuomo on Good Morning America this morning. Based on Chris' line of questioning and Ayers' responses, it became clear that there is a disconnect of about 30 years. Somewhere between 1970 and 2000, young people became apathetic. I commented often over those years about how college students were not politically active in anything the way we were in the 60's. I am truly thankful and impressed at how this current generation, "Generation-O" has taken the world by a storm and helped to elect our new President.

In the 60's we were in an undeclared war in Viet Nam. We were demonstrating against that war, fighting for voting rights across the South, and rising up against the failure of the cities in the North. Getting arrested was a badge of honor when your cell-mates where national leaders, and other students who took on the same cause. The closest I came to getting arrested was in Madison, New Jersey when I demonstrated against the local barber who refused to cut the hair of an African college student. I couldn't get arrested, but I was caught up in the emotion and the rhetoric of that time, shouting, "By any means necessary."

Most of us settled down into mainstream quiet lives and nobody considers us terrorists for all the involvement we had. I never owned a gun, won't have one in the house, but there are people I associated with in the 60's who probably caused my name to be put on a list with others who might by Palin standards be called "terrorists."

The guilt by association in light of all the social activism of 30-40 years ago makes no sense at all. Ayers described his association with Barack Obama in much the same way that Obama explained it himself. I have personally hosted gatherings in my house for political candidates who knew me only by way of a card that I returned in the mail saying I would volunteer. Nobody investigated my background. I have served on boards with people with whom I had no other connection than that board. I could probably meet most of them on the street and neither of us would even remember the other. The few that I even know the names are people who have been in the news since that time. Just being in the same place together is no indication of having the same philosopy, or even of sharing thoughts about anything other than the event at hand.

I'm glad that the majority of voters rejected the notion that Obama was "pallin' around with terrorists." I just hope we don't have to continue this conversation now that Ayers has rereleased his memoir.

I'm trying to stay away

I just can't help myself. I still click on all those links. Photos of Sasha and Malia, and Bridges around the world, Newspapers around the world.

I can't seem to get enough of our(my) new President-elect. Maybe I wasn't paying as much attention when we had the last changing of the guard, but it seems that Obama is getting more coverage during this transition. And I'm still excited. Just the thought of Michelle and my little girls moving into the White House. I'm getting goose bumps again just writing about it.

And we will be in Washington for the swearing-in and parade. I got on the list with our Congressman's office. But even if we don't get tickets, we'll be there in the crowd, cheering for our (my) new President!!

And dozens of people every day are still clicking on the blog I did on Obama love. I guess I'm not the only one. (If the video doesn't show, it means they're at it again)

Thoughts on a New Morning

I've talked to all my siblings over the last 12 hours, and the sentiment is the same. "I never thought I would live to see this day." And we think on what our parents would have thought if they were here.


My mind goes back to the first Presidential election I was aware of. I was seven years old in 1952, when my mother couldn't vote. She had left school early in the county where she taught English to get back to Petersburg before the polls closed. The polling place for our neighborhood was the corner store where Mother had to wait in line almost an hour before they told her she couldn’t vote because she didn’t have her receipt for paying the poll tax. I remember my late brother Ronald saying, "But Mother you were going to vote for Eisenhower."

Those barriers in the voting process were lifted through the Voting Rights Act back in the 1960's. Still so many of us did not participate in the voting process because of lack of faith in a country that continued to turn her back on so many of us.

This time was different. It was not just a matter of having a black man running for president. This time we have a community organizer who recognizes the power of the grass roots organization to get everyone involved in the process. I have participated in campaigns for other candidates in past years. In the past I stuffed envelopes, made calls, made contributions, stood in the rain holding a sign at the polls. Never have I been so engaged as this time. Never have I given so much of my time and money...you would think I was tithing when I got those emails from David Plouffe. THIS TIME, I knew would be different.

The tears will be coming all day today, tears of joy, tears of remembrance of where we've come from, tears of hope for this new day. Last night I hooted and howled when each successive projected state was announced, I cried when the Obama family took the stage in Grant Park, and I shivered with joy when Barack referred to Michelle as the next First Lady of the United States of America.

I pray for our new President, for his wisdom and strength. And I pray for his protection, that Jesus will build a fence all around him, fight his battles, let no enemy rise up against him.

Step away from the computer!!

I have to admit, I'm on overload with this presidential election. I shut off the TV to get away from the constant barrage of negative ads, National, State, and local. I want to argue back at least half the time.

The advertising on the internet doesn't usually catch my eye. I learned to tuned out those blinking girls in the classmates.com ads long ago. But suddenly this one caught my eye. I think it's the red that does it. I can't cancel my "free" membership because of it either.

Let's talk about handouts and welfare. They say "the rich are different." They don't think of $700 billion to Wall Street as a handout. How many corporations have been bailed out in recent memory?

I like Wanda Sykes' explanation of it. Let's put AIG on Food Stamps!!