Barack-tober

Usually we spend most of our Mitchell Messenger posts updating everyone on the comings and going and doings and sayings of our kids. That’s good, and that’s what The Mitchell Messenger is for.
But this is a pretty important time in the history of our country, and I’d like to spend a few words in behalf of my candidate for president: Barack Obama.
Barack Obama caught my attention about the same time he caught the attention of many others. As Aaron and I watched the 2004 Democratic Convention, utterly disgusted with the haphazard, corrupt governance of George W. Bush (for the record, I registered as a Republican in 2000 and voted for John McCain—yes, John McCain—in the 2000 Republican primaries, then, impelled by the wisdom and integrity of Al Gore against the backdrop of George W. Bush’s profound lack of intellectual curiosity, I voted wholeheartedly for Gore in the general election).
As we watched the young senator from Illinois take the stage for the keynote address, we heard something that we didn’t even know we had been listening for. Senator Barack Obama didn’t use the opportunity to rail on Republicans or to pronounce to the world the fundamental superiority of the Democratic party. Instead, he talked about what it means to be American. He talked about the power of individuals, regardless of the minutiae of their differences. He reminded all of us who were listening that a leader leads. Leadership is more than “deciding.” It’s more than walking and expecting others to follow. Leadership comes from those who inspire, who listen, and who seek to find common ground with all people who seek truth and right.
At risk of sounding like an infomercial, I want to share how I have changed my own life under the influence of Mr. Obama. After September 11, we lived in Connecticut, only hours away from New York City. My heart was filled with a desire to do something, anything, to help those whose lives had been changed by the disaster that occurred that day. I watched our president anxiously (and supportively) to know what we as Americans would be asked to do. And the answer was: nothing. Just go spend your money. We didn’t have a lot of money to spend, but we actually tried to do our part, no joke. Except it was a bit of a joke, as were the remaining three years of Bush’s first term in office.
After listening to Mr. Obama in 2004, I felt something much different. Although nothing had really changed, I felt a new sense of responsibility for my country and for the people in my community. In the weeks afterward, I tried harder to do my part to make a difference, even a small one, in the lives of my neighbors, friends, and community members. And it felt really good. It wasn’t that I didn’t know I had a patriotic responsibility before, and it wasn’t that I didn’t know how to serve others. But it was a little like I had forgotten about how important and transformative those experiences could be.
When Obama declared he would be running for president in 2008, my heart leapt a little. But I didn’t hold out much hope for him. Obviously he was young, inexperienced. But I went ahead and voted for him anyway. I even donated some money—that’s right, while all my Mormon friends were sending checks off to Romney, I knew Barack Obama was a person who could and would work to make America a better, kinder, more compassionate country.
Our country is in trouble. There are all sorts of problems, and not all of them have easy solutions. I happen to like John McCain quite a lot. He’s done good things in his life, and while he’s run his campaign rather shoddily, if he were up against George W. Bush tomorrow, my pen wouldn’t even hesitate before placing an X beside McCain’s name. But this time I can do better than that. I can vote (already did actually) for someone who will make me proud. Someone who will inspire me tomorrow just as he did in 2004 to reach out and do for others.
Finally, I want to leave a concrete example of how Barack Obama has inspired me. This holiday season, our family is collecting used books and raising money to buy additional books for underprivileged children in our city. We’re doing it because we are more aware of our personal responsibility to do something and help someone. We’re doing it because Barack Obama reminded us that YES WE CAN!


Okay, so in other news, Aaron’s article on Misa Criolla made the cover of the Choral Journal this month, and Britt’s book manuscript was requested by four very awesome literary agents. Our kids, of course, are still cute. There are (will be) pictures of Addy’s super-awesome birthday party below.