My father used to always say if you don't stand for something you will fall for anything. I have always followed that rule and have sometimes suffered for it . But I will continue to follow it because it was my father's advice and he not only said it, he lived by it too.
I was born and raised a Democrat, not just any old Democrat but a Social Democrat who was taught to believe in equality and justice for all . I was taught to trust our government and that the purpose of this government was to serve not just those who have power but those who do not. Not just Americans but the rest of the world as well.
My parents are people who believe in hard work and respect for the society we live in and its people. I was taught that I was not inferior or superior to anyone and that all people were capable of some greatness. I was raised a Social Democrat and I am still one with no regrets .
My father believed in this country and though he was not a religious man, I think America was his religion and he practiced it fully and widely. My parents were born during the depression and grew up during the Second World War and they saw America at its best and worst yet they never gave up hope in the potential of this nation even at the depths of the civil rights movement when they struggled with others for the right to vote. My mother never gave up hope even when er older sister was beaten up by the police in Jackson Mississippi for refusing to pay off police who came into her place of business.
Through out my life my parents taught me to respect the law and the leaders of this great nation right or wrong and look for the bright side in all of them . The one thing that I learned from this is that with our leaders are like what Forrest Gump said a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get. But like chocolates they were all sweet in their own way and stayed the course to our America, the America of today. Where everything is not perfect but we have a great deal more than many other nations. We have free public education, employment and leadership opportunities that are not based on birth but perseverance and determination. Our opportunities are made not born. It is not to say that we don't have people who were born on third base and think they hit a home run, but we have opportunities based on what we learn and earn .
Our presidents are that box of chocolates aristocrats that were born into power and influence and those who had to earn it every step of the way.
Barack Obama is part of that mixed bag he was born to a woman abandoned by her husband when Barack was just a baby and went on and raised him with the help of her family. She along with her mother and father gave him the best they could afford to give him they were not millionaires far from it but they understood as my parents did that education and hard work will bring results.
President Obama understands that this is the foundation of America and that government is responsible for helping Americans realize their dreams. One of Franklin Roosevelt's four freedoms was freedom from want. It is hard to realize your dream if you are hungry, undereducated and without decent health care. President Obama understands this and he spent his entire first term insuring that all Americans would have the opportunity to achieve their highest .
He along with presidents like Bill Clinton, Franklin Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt knew that an America of despair and hopelessness is an America destine for failure . He understands like president Abraham Lincoln understood that a house divided against itself cannot stand . He has reached across the isle to the Republicans in Congress and has extended the oak leaf of compromise and understanding. He like Lincoln put at his side not just those who agree with him but those who do not.
Barack Obama is the embodiment of what the preamble of our constitution says. He has promoted the general welfare, provided for the common defense and he has through his policies insured the blessing of liberty to us and future generations.
I am voting for President Obama finally for my father who is in a nursing home paralyzed from a stroke. The once brilliant talkative man is now void of speech. My family pays $4000 per month to keep him in this nursing home. Without the efforts of President Obama and members of Congress who believe that quality health care is for all not just the wealthy. He has made sure that senior citizens like my father can live in dignity. My father served this country for over thirty years and asked for nothing. He like many elderly Americans cannot be forgotten . A vote for Mr. Obama is a vote for dignity, respect and the belief that American is for all not just the ones with all of it.
Not to say anything against Governor Romney, I think he would make a fine president if the country were made up of only rich men, but it is not. America is a nation of many people some rich some poor some men some women, some people of color. In order to lead a nation like ours we need a leader who gets it and President Obama does. He has gone above and beyond and we need him to steer us through this sea of economic uncertainty. The journey that began four years ago has to continue to the destination of stability with Barack Obama at the helm. We owe it to our parents we owe it to our nation.
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