OLD GROWTH

I had an email from someone very close to me yesterday, that I just couldn't get out of my head. I lost a little sleep over it, and decided I needed to respond, though I'm sure they would rather that I didn't. This is what I said.

Okay. This has been eating away at me all night so I guess I have to really respond.
I love you dearly, and I won’t love you less if you vote for McCain, but man, I gotta tell you, I don’t get it.
When McCain ran in the previous election, he was my candidate in the primaries. I really liked him. I was excited about him. And when he decided to run again this time, I was excited, because I thought we had it made – a great candidate on both sides, how could we go wrong?

But, since then, since the primary race, McCain has changed his positions. He’s completely lost his independent spirit and the creative thinking and policy choices that endeared him to me. I’m not sure who’s whispering in his ear these days, but I don’t feel that a vote for McCain is actually a vote for John McCain anymore. I’m not sure WHO you’d be voting for. And I find that VERY scary. I don’t like the people that McCain is surrounding himself with (and I’m not talking about stupid Palin – that’s not even worth discussion – that woman would have been strung up by her fingers and put on public display at Wells).

I don’t like that McCain doesn’t seem to be calling the shots in his own campaign, much less once he gets into the white house. I don’t have any confidence that he’ll be able to make his own decisions – which is truly sad because John McCain is so intelligent and was such a good politician. I honestly believe that he’s lost his ability to be an independent force.

I feel confident with Obama’s independence. I feel confident that he has a great and intelligent and forward thinking support structure. I am not voting for the next four years. I’m voting for the next two generations, at least. I’m voting for the one who is looking that far ahead, and not looking into the middle east as if it’s the only place on earth. I’m voting for the person who will change things so that Jake and Grace and B and L will have good options in their votes later, good leadership and stewardship examples to follow. I’m also voting for the person who can bring America back into the good graces of the countries that have lost their faith in American politics and American morality.

I recognize that Obama’s ideas will not likely draw us out of this economic mess as quickly as McCain’s. I recognize that Obama’s drafts will require a longer period of “buckling down” for all of us now – and believe me when I say that I will feel that and it will not be fun for me and my family. But, I DO believe that what Obama and the people around him will do is establish a stronger, safer, and more fair economic America that will benefit everyone further out – way further out, not just in the short term.

You and I come from the same tree, but we’re not living in the same forest. Mine is darker right now, the paths are narrower and those clearings where the sun shines through are few and far between. So I am voting for the person that I think will take out some of the old growth and use it to create new growth while creating some more clearings.

And I am paying attention. I know the issues and I know the platforms. And I’ve made a very well informed decision.

So, there you have it. Do with it what you will. Even if you just get angry and click delete with a forceful index finger, at least you’ll have learned a little more about me, right?

I love you.
K