And So it Goes...

Well he we are at the dawn of a new chapter in American History. The question is; where will it take us? What does this election mean?

I would first like to recognize the brilliance of the Obama Campaign, as well as the milestone that has been reached in this stage of American History. Our first black President...perhaps the divide now will finally heal.

Where are we going? How will Obama govern? These are the questions we need to now ask ourselves.

Many of the Pundits on TV last night began discussing (once it became clear McCain had lost) whether this meant that the country had moved from Center Right, to Center Left. I think we are still a Center Right Country, but 58 million people decided that they wanted something different. Really, this election signifies the end of the old guard in Washington. The McCain's, Bidens, Franks, Reids, they are all on their way out the door. The dawn is setting on this period of American Politics, and to quote Kennedy, "Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans".

This is in fact a new age for America, and the next generation of leaders is beginning to emerge across this great country. If will be a battle of news ideas versus deep-rooted tradition. Our morals will be challenged, even changed.

The America of the future faces tests not only of it's ever evolving world view, but a test of the values we have held dear for generations. The value of our grandparents. The incoming generation, to quote Palahniuk are "The middle children of history, no great wars, no great depressions. Our great war is a spiritual war, our great depression is our lives." We live detached from the world around us even though we are connected like never before. We breath fiction into reality, because in our worlds they can be one and the same. We don't know real pain, merely inconvenience and disappointment. The great nation that our parents and grandparents built has sheltered us from the pain that exists outside our borders. Our only exposure being from the 24/7 news shows that change faster than we can blink; YouTube videos that we can turn off if they show something that we do not like, and go back to our world, our fantasies, where the pain cannot touch us.

In the 1930's and 1940's when this country was facing world wars and poverty this nation fought together, bleed together, held each others starving children in their arms together. They hoped together, they prayed together, and ultimately they found faith together. They got through the tough times and came out stronger, more unified. Changed.

My generation for the most part has lacked for nothing. We have either been provided for by our parents, or by the government. We have been taught either directly or indirectly that we are entitled to everything life has to offer whether we have worked for it our not.

That is the new battle in America. Will we allow ourselves to become complacent and reliant on the state, or will we bring in a new dawn in America that shows the world what can be achieved through hard work, determination, creativity, and unification?

If Obama does one thing as President I hope it is this; that he does work to unify the country. I hope he leads the fight in setting aside our differences so that we can work together to bring meaningful change to this country instead of pushing an ideology of the few, so that we can pull ourselves out of the rut of state reliance, entitlements, and again lead the world with our wealth, or innovation, and our might.

Time will tell. Obama is only the first step in what my generation has to offer this country. Will we rise to the challenge and shape a new future, or will we fall back on the past?