But then last weekend I started reading a book called America: Our Next Chapter by Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel and, I have to say, it really struck a chord. On page 18, I stumbled upon this tasty little nugget of wisdom: "For Americans to believe once again in our political system — and by believe in, I mean participate in it with their votes and their active involvement — they have to believe their elected leaders." Shocking concept, no? Now, I’ve written briefly on my political history, or lack thereof, once before, but perhaps I should expand a little.
A decade ago I was an 18-year-old high school kid whose closest thing to a political thought was either, "Cool, I can buy scratch tickets!" or maybe a joke about what the definition of is… um, was. I justified my political apathy with standard slacker rhetoric; "I don’t want to throw off the system with my uneducated vote." Flash forward five years, and my teenage ambivalence had long since given way to a feeling of complete disenchantment with the system as a whole after having watched a man who lost the public vote move into the White House a few years earlier. I remember sitting in the student union building at school, watching CNN’s tickertape coverage of bombings in Iraq, silently thinking to myself, I thought Al Qaeda was based in Afghanistan.
Another five years later, and here I am: a 28-year-old in a wheelchair with a president I voted against whose administration we now know used 935 false statements to convince the American public to send their sons and daughters to bravely give their lives in a war that should never have been waged. Let me see if I have this right: we hold impeachment hearings regarding the happenings in Old Billy Boy’s pants, but then 10 years later a president falsely leads us to war and we shrug it off, allowing him to simply mail-in what remains of a second term worse than I did my last quarter of college?? (Seriously, dude… I tried harder in springboard diving class.) WTF?? Shouldn’t someone be doing something about this??
Like who, the media? Fifty-some-odd channels of "political commentary" that has devolved into a brand of partisan hackery that is more concerned with the Kevin Bacon Factor of our presidential candidates than their stance on the environment, especially if someone’s dog walker’s cousin was caught with socialist reading material in high school? Right. All they’ve managed to accomplish lately is allowing words like dishonesty and accountability to be replaced with more spin-friendly terms like "mis-spoke", "misremember" and "truthiness." Sorry Stephanopoulos & Co., but who wears how big of a flag symbol for how long is not exactly one of the issues my vote hinges upon. Oh wait, did another poll come out??
Fact is, if we can’t rely on the media to keep our politicians honest, the responsibility falls squarely at our feet, my friends. And yes, it may have taken 10 years to fully get my act together, but this time I’m not willing to sit idly by and let the pattern of mistrust that has infested the Oval Office continue any longer. And that’s precisely why my vote this year will not be going to someone so willing to blatantly and repeatedly lie about her foreign-policy experiences to secure a nomination she doesn’t seem to even have a true mathematical chance of winning outright except for what would only be seen as the backrooming of superdelegate votes that will do nothing but disenfranchise enough of the party to lose her the general election anyway.
No, I’ll be casting my vote for a candidate (gasp!) I can actually believe in. A candidate whose biggest criticism seems to be that he lacks the type of lengthy, hypocrisy-laden voting resume that most politicians spend the majority of their campaigns selectively claiming based on which vote they are trying to win at that specific moment. I want my next president to be the man with the vision, tenacity and passion that not only have the ability to re-inspire the disillusioned people like I once was to get back involved in the future of their country, but the potential to unite the public in such a way that will start making the kind of changes that could make me honestly utter the words, "I am PROUD to be an American" for the very first time in the 10 years I’ve been eligible to vote. This November I’m voting for change. I’m voting for hope. I’m voting for Obama, and I hope you do too.
"This is our moment. This is our chance. There is a moment in the life of every generation where that spirit of hopefulness has to come through. Where we cast aside the fear, and the doubt and the cynicism — the cynicism that so often passes for wisdom but is actually just being afraid to reach for something higher — were we shed that and, arm in arm, we decide we’re going to remake this country; block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, county by county, state by state… THIS is OUR moment. THIS is OUR time. And if you stand with me… if you will vote for me, we will not just win the nomination, we will win the general election and you and I together will transform this country, and we will transform the world." — Barack Obama in Virginia on February 9, after sweeping contests in LA, NE, WA and VI
Kenny Salvini 
I like your style and what seems to be passion…I love this entry ~ quite frankly I love them all. It was good to see you!
I\’m from Pennsylvania and I really didn\’t appreciate Obama\’s remarks about people from my area (ie small towns) clinging to our guns and religion b/c of our bitterness about the economic status of the area. It felt really condescending especially if you take it in the context of who he said it to–wealthy San Franciscans. I "cling" to my religion b/c I actually believe in it. Most people I know use their guns to hunt not justisfy why they can\’t afford to fill up their gas tank to get to work everyday. If people are upset or frustrated about the state of our economy I don\’t think it helps to belittle them or their faith.
It really wasn\’t his finest moment or the best choice of words…but no one\’s perfect I guess. I will vote for him if he is the Democratic candidate. I\’m so desperate for change.
Hi Kenny
Glad to see you back! have missed you… I always enjoy reading what you have to say and usually agree with you…I\’m voting for Obama too and hope he can bring some change but for sure he will be better than our current President …I still can\’t believe he was re-elected…
As for the earlier post you are right if you can make a difference and prevent someone else from getting hurt or killed the lawsuit served a good purpose…
Hope to be reading your book soon-but in the meantime look forward to reading what you post here!
Yes,
the prairie lawyer from Illinois! I\’m with you, Kenny. — Abe
Whew, I was so glad to see you back on here…. and then, all these heated comments. I thought you should know that at the very least you have made me desire to take a second look and do my research on Obama.
I agree. Hilary went WAY too far. That had to be one of the most insane statements I\’ve ever heard in a campaign. Basically, she\’s staying in the race in case her opponent is assasinated??? Who thinks like that? And, of course, her comments about her husband were jsut stupid, since the primary schedule has changed completely since he ran.
Hey Kenny, I commented on this when you put it on my space, so I won\’t really elaborate too much. I did click on your recent comment and a little smile went to my face when I saw the link was taking me to Countdown. I watch Keith Olbermann each day. On this particular day I think he went a little overboard on his comment. Just my opinion.
Don\’t get me wrong, she is definitely try to take the low road to the White House on many occasion, but on this particular issue I think it was not intended as it came out. And that\’s coming from an Obama supporter from the very start.Take care my comrade,Billy
My gosh Kenny I\’m smiling even more now. I\’ve noticed that you\’ve gotten into serious political discussions on here and I still remember about a year and a half ago, or more, when I asked you to review an entry I had made, you weren\’t that well versed with the issue. My how things have changed. It appears to me like you\’re more informed in many ways than I am and I read a lot about this stuff.
I\’ll be back by later to see what else has taken place.Keep up the good work.Billy Paul
Hi Kenny! I just wanted to say that…HELLO…
I used to read you very often, then I stopped blogging and I think I haven\’t been to you page in over a year! Today I was doing some work in the computer and you popped in my head for some reason, I googled you to find you… It is a pleassure to read you again! You are a breath of fresh air!
V-
"Or that an underqualified black gets hired at a company because of Affirmative Action"
Actually, the point of affirmative action is that you make sure you consider QUALIFIED people of minority races for job opportunities…not underqualified. I\’m guessing your "A" average didn\’t include an "A" in civics.
Actually, the point of affirmative action is that you make sure you consider QUALIFIED people of minority races for job opportunities…not underqualified. I\’m guessing your "A" average didn\’t include an "A" in civics.
You are right, affirmative action does make sure you consider qualified people of minority races. In government, the standards are not as high as they are in the private sector, so a B or C minority candidate will get hired over an A average candidate because it is mandatory that a certain number of minorities do. That is also why government workers do not make as much money and many government agencies farm their work out to contractors.
Actually, I work for a government agency and have been involved in the hiring process many times. I\’ve always hired the most qualified person, regardless of race. I do have to write a little blurb explaining why I didnt choose a minority or woman, but Ive never had my decision overturned. And quite honestly, every person I have hired has been white…they were simply the most qualified out of the pool I had. I was never mandated to hire a certain number of minorities and I was never pressured to do so. Sorry to burst your bubble, but affirmative action is not a quota system.
Hey Kenny…
I won\’t get into the political hoop-la other than we are all at different levels of discernment.
I\’m still sifting through all the rhetoric to make my decision on my vote.
You be well and may peace always be with you…Greg
Egads, I hate political arguments. I\’m a Clinton lover from Arkansas so you can guess who I wanted to get the nomination. Oh well, I\’m just happy that Bush\’s presidency is almost over. It\’s always nice to see you blogging here. I had to create a new blog and delete my old one due to crazy people…you know how that is! ;)Kelly from Arkansas
I knew it!!! i totally agree with u ! if i were american i\’d vote for Obama! 😉
thanks God you\’re back!!! hugs and kisses from Perú.
Well after the convention I\’m completely sold. It\’s Obama or bust. "It was never about me. It is about you." I love that! Although it IS about him and I hope he walks the walk. I\’m keepin\’ the faith.
I hope happiness is filling your days. Heather
Hey Kenny!
I used to read your blog way back when and I really enjoyed it…life kind of got crazy for me, a divorce can do that to a person I suppose but, I\’m back and I stumbled on your site…I\’m glad to see you are still here once in awhile! 🙂 Take care!
Great post!
Cynthia
Wow, nothing like a good political post to get the fists flying!! That\’s why all I\’m going to say is that it\’s nice to see some new posts from you Kenney. I\’ve kept you on my blog list, but haven\’t checked back in a while. I\’m glad I decided to look today. Hope you are doing well…and I know I don\’t have to say this…but write about whatever the heck you want to. This is your blog. If it pisses people off they don\’t have to come back! I\’ll be back (you just said that with the Terminator accent, didn\’t you?) ;o)
Oops. I spelled your name wrong. Sorry…please forgive me! ;o)
I voted for obama today….it felt good… I would of voted for Kenny S., but you weren\’t on the ballot?
This is an early congratulations Kenny. I hope Obama really does make a difference in the next four years, not just for USA but for the world. I think Eli hit the nail on the head with her preference to vote too…
Congratulations America! This is an historical event. Obama will change our country for the better. You are right Kenny, we finally have a president we can be proud of.
God Help Us All……
This is the begining of a very Dark age for America
Amen, Charles, V and Eli. If nothing else, Jefferson\’s declaration that "all men are created equal" rings much truer today than it did yesterday. Turns out Hope isn\’t quite as audacious an idea as was once thought. Also, I wouldn\’t mind hearing Palin and Giuliani\’s further thoughts on community organizing, considering the blow out. Ha ha.
Why is everyone saying he is Black?–Why is he not called white? he is bi-racial–Someone name me one thing he has done in the senate -The only change you are going to see is what\’s left in your pocket when he takes more from the rich to hand out to the poor-who with a little work ethic might have been the rich–laugh it up now Kenny-I will check back in a year and see how you feel-my guess is your hope will be dashed-I lived in NY when Giuliani was Mayor-If you want I can name the things he has done -I will wait for you to tell me what Obama has done–Good luck to us all
Here\’s one thing: reaching across the aisle and working with Dick Lugar to create a law aimed at keeping loose nukes and other weaponry from falling into the hands of terrorists. That\’s one thing, even though it doesn\’t matter anymore, because the nation has spoken, and continuing the tired line of attack of "what has he done" is just sour grapes. The question is no longer about what he has done, but what he will do after inheriting a nation in shambles thanks to the last administration. Am I naïve enough to think he will magically fix it all? Absolutely not but I, along with 63 million other people in this country, think he deserves a shot. And you\’re right, he is biracial, but to imply that that somehow undermines the historical nature of his victory simply does not work.
Well said, again!.. Yes Amen!. Time will tell. Best wishes to Mr Obama. Hope all is well with you and the family too.
hi
Glad to see ur blog up…. its been ages..
and i just wish for some peace in this world ….
too much war… too much blood shed./.
best regards
Hey, Kenny!
How are you?
So, now that the elections are done and all the crazyness is over, I just wanted to say Congraulations for your new President. I really feel that the Americans rose up to the occasion.
It\’s funny how an election in a country thousands of miles away from mine shook up my country, all of Europe, all of the world. So, yay, Mr. Barack Obama and yay, USA! 🙂
Hope you are doing fine. Rock on!
Cláudia.
Thanks.
دروس الفوتوشوب –
الدوري الفرنسي –
الدوري الألماني –
الدوري الإيطالي – بوح و
خواطر – منتدى
الصور – أناشيد
– السكرابز والخامات –
الدوري الإنجليزي –
الدوري الإسباني –
أجمل صور أطفال
Well well, look at you, go months without writing and still draw a crowd when you pop out. Powerful man you are Kenny.Should we expect to see a new post once a year? hehe
I had this thought….I know, odd for a blonde chick like me right? Anyway…..the thought was that some day I really, really, REALLY want to go to WA to visit you and Shethinksitsfunny and the hair guru…… how are you? I hope well…..In addition to my last blog….tonight I was completely slammed into by a drunk driver. She was about 22. Kids were with me. It was surreal. Everyone is OK. I was actually in a rent car. Fixed from a time from when a 16 year old rear – ended me a few months ago. Really? Are you f\’ing kidding me? He told me in the divorce, "you\’ll hate your life." Ugh. hmmmmm…..I miss chatting with you. I think of you often and hope you are well. How many Christmases does this make as friends now? We\’re already gettin\’ up there.so yeah, anyway….hugs and shit.j.
Great entry. Thank you. AL
Heh Kenny. Wishing you and your family a nice Christmas. Hopefully the new year offers results as Obama takes on the bad economic mess we are in. Thank you for your informative writings. Charles
Hi Kenny! Merry Christmas! I enjoyed this post. I\’m looking forward to seeing what Pres. Obama can do, and yet, worried because of the mess that he\’s stepping into. I guess we all just do what we can and wait to see. I hope you\’re doing well, and that this coming new year will be a fantastic one for you. BIG HUGE HUGS, Steph
Hi, Kenny!Hope everything\’s OK with you and that you had a wonderful Xmas.I just wanted to wish you an amazing 2009, filled with everything you and your loved ones want and deserve.Rock on. 🙂 *
Glad you\’re back. We\’ve missed reading your blogs. Great song. 🙂 Gail