by Lee Stranahan
Before I plunge into what I think is the nature of the challenge ahead, let me do something I haven’t done yet. Please allow me to introduce myself.
Right after the election, I got a call from Bob Cesca asking me if I wanted to blog here at the GDAB. Bob and I had known each other mostly by reputation and email and he was kind enough to post my videos quite a bit during the election.
I said yes immediately. I liked Bob a lot and thought he had a great, fair, passionate liberal head on his shoulders. The reason I said yes is that I liked the idea of being part of a multiple author blog because it allowed for a give and take, conversational quality that I felt would be important in the post Obama victory world of politics.
Now, I’m not new to blogging or to writing. I’ve kept a personal online public journal way before it was called blogging; for at least 16 years or so on various sites. I was the Editor-In-Cheif two magazines and have written for publication a fair bit, mostly on subjects related to video production and animation. That’s another thing Bob and I had in common; we both have a professional background in those areas.So, after the election I more or less just starting blogging about what was on my mind politically here. I’ve tried to do at least one post a day and I’ve pretty much kept to that. Bob had told me initially that he wanted to keep the blog moving in terms of content and so I tried to keep to a pace.The headlines and controversies since November have been partially predictable and partially out of the blue – things like gay marriage, Rick Warren , specific cabinet picks, and the continued economic disaster. And of course, this is all before Barack Obama has taken the oath of office.In every case, though, I’m just saying what is honestly on my mind. I have no interest in stirring up controversy for it’s own sake. One thing I’ve learned in the last year, though, is to trust my instincts and to not shy away from controversy, either. If I’m a minority voice on some issues, I need to speak my truth on it regardless of the fact that it’s not a popular position.This is especially true because I’m a true believer that there’s an Obama revolution afoot and it’s one that is going to present challenges to both Republicans and Democrats. I’ve written a few times about what Obama has called the smallness of our politics and how it applies to both sides, not just to the GOP.Obama’s challenge is not just political. It’s personal. He’s articulated time and again that people are going to need to step up and take responsibility for themselves, for their family and for their community. Again, this message hasn’t been popular with some; but I believe it’s fundamentally, deeply right.I don’t view the 2008 election as just another political victory. It wasn’t just about America electing a competent, intelligent President after eight years of terrifying buffoonery. It wasn’t just about electing an African-American President after four-hundred years of shameful racial problems. No, I think we’ve all witnessed something deeply important in a spiritual sense.It doesn’t take a good deal of faith or imagination to see Barack Obama’s victory – our victory – as karmic. It brings the promise of restoring balance to our country and our world. It presents us with the chance to do the right thing.It’s just a chance, though. And doing the right thing doesn’t mean doing unto our enemies as they have done to us. Endless war is no admirable goal, whether our enemies are foreign terrorists or the domestic villains who have occupied the White House for years. Eternal vigilance – that’s a worthy goal. But we have to be equally vigilant that we don’t become that which we fought against. Although it’s tempting, we can’t grow tired of being the ones who take the high road. We have to choose that higher road, again and again, tired or not – because the other path leads us nowhere but to destruction.This is the challenge and it’s not just our nation’s challenge. It’s not some abstract thing that we can hope other do. It’s something that each of us must work on in our own lives, every day.I feel the weight of that increasingly in my own life. I see the difference between my ideals and my actions at times. I’ve said things on this forum that I regret. I’ve been petty at times, needlessly insulting at others. Not too often, I hope, but enough where I see that I need to be better.I think Bob has kept a great balance here between funny commentary and serious thought. I think the conversations we have here are important. The consequences are great. Personally, I hope that you can bring other people – your friends, people you know online – into this community. Invite them, encourage them to comment, and to disagree or agree.In case I don’t say it to you before midnight, happy new year everyone/
