VOTE

I vote for a cold beer! (I already voted for Obama last week.) :)

I couldn't fall asleep last night because I was so nervous and I found myself praying a great deal about this. We've been given a once in a lifetime chance to not only have someone as genuine as Obama as a citizen but to elect him. I'll be so proud of my country if we make the right choice, to go towards a new direction and embrace it but I will be so devastated if we let ignorance, hatred, and fear of change hold us back from the potential in all of us and as a country being full realized with this man.

It seems our country was founded on a revolution and want for change so many years ago and we've come so far from this. We've allowed ourselves to become complacent. Instead of rising up and demanding change, we have let our government send our future generations to be killed in a war that does not make any sense. At the same time, we continue to allow our own rights to be suppressed with more of us losing health care, homes, and incomes. We've allowed ourselves to be influenced by fear instead of reason and by a false sense of morality, which has not existed in either foreign or domestic policy in the last eight years.

I feel...this is our chance to accept a new direction and failure to do so may be the most devastating travesty I'll ever see. Obama is a great gift to our country. We've had so many talented artists, writers, and musicians but he's the one who can actually lead us and, I believe, make the potential in this country fully realized because there is greatness in all of us.

If you haven't already, please go vote.

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Comments

daniel (closing this account soon) [deleted] says:

I so wish I could vote. Great words Kirstie.
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

Sebastien Bocos says:

you can......
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

kathalijne says:

yes today is the day!! i also wish i could vote, the election isn't even in my country but im very excited by it and SO hope Obama wins.

great words indeed... it's cool to see how much you care, must be quite exciting to be part of it
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

Hervé ALL says:

Thanks for the add into Barack Obama PRESIDENT pool !
Nice capture.
Feel free to post on it ;)
Hervé
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

space2k says:

I also couldn't sleep. I voted early, but today is the day!
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

faithdesired says:

I appreciate your write-up.... I've been a bit troubled by a lot of people in america's views on Obama. You would think that in our world today, those stereotypes would be a thing of the past....
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

Mr November says:

I clearly keep good company - my Flickr contacts page today is full of pictures/tributes to Obama. Mercifully, there's not a single one for, y'know, the other guy. And if I had a vote...
Good luck, America!
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

Robert Loerzel says:

Ah, the Hideout and Obama – a great combination. I just voted... took about 25 minutes, so that wasn't too bad.
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

soulrush says:

I'd vote, if only i could.
:)
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

Magnaza says:

Good luck for tonight.
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

space versus ficciones says:

wouldn't a vote for change be a vote for nader? sure i'm a canadian but obama seems more plastic and evolutionary than genuine and revolutionary. he may be a better choice than mccain but by how much is very tough to say.

it's a passionate write up and i wish you all the luck in having your dreams come true but from next door, folks i've talked to aren't anticipating anything different from our neighbours to the south. i'd love to be proven wrong.

sorry to be a wet blanket on a cold day but i find your post very problematic.

mind you, the photo is swell...
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

Southcoasting says:

Too right. Here's hoping !
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

kirstiecat says:

Well, my opinion on what you're feeling is that it's easy to be skeptical when there is so much enthusiasm and iconography...it's easy to wonder whether it's even real I guess. But, I think you have to realize is that if Obama wins, we'll not only have the first African American president but we'll also have the first president who was not bought by corporations. His constituents are truly the American people and that to me is incredibly inspiring. I've heard Obama speak in person, though it was when he was running for Senate, and I also feel that he's the only man with leadership qualities who was actually also a decent human being, something else this country's white house has been lacking in.
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

Hanana Co. says:

I just got back from voting! I'm so nervous for today. Wonderful words...
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

kirstiecat says:

Thanks...I am with you...hopefully, things will be ok...we have to keep hoping and praying though. Thanks for voting!
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

solamore says:

woohoo! Great news I read early this morning.
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

mod_1981 says:

Obama wins!

I'm in Taiwan, far away from U.S.
However I felt so touched because it means ppl can! yes we can and yes you can and we still have the chance to dream. Dare to dream!

Thank u for uploading this pic.
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

soulrush says:

oh, yes!

:)
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

Baba O ' riley says:

Leaving the elections of side , i love this photo, the colors are amazing Krsitie. now it gave to me desire of taking a cold beer. :)

Congratulations for the change,
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

ailicec [deleted] says:

Dear Kirstie, I am so happy that you wish came truth!
I think this guy is going to make a huge change and I

HOPE.

Iupi!!!!
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

Sam Collins says:

Rejoice!
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

FraPiti says:

great!
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

Ashley Aguirre says:

Aww, this brought a tear to my eye. I feel it's finally time to lose the fear of gov't and have gov't fear the power of its people.

I do hope that people are patient with Obama. A lot of the promises made on the campaign trail are going to take time to achieve. There are a lot of problems that took years to grow and it's going to take years to fix, but I do already feel a swift change in the countrys morale. I feel so proud.
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

'58apache says:

I don't mean to burst everyone's bubble here, but I beg to differ. No, maybe President-elect Obama wasn't "bought by corporations", but he was "bought" as you put it, by Hollywood. The money that came from the entertainment industry to support his campaign is unprecedented.
I hope that your hopes are realized! Truly, I do! I did not support Mr. Obama, but I will pray for him as my president. I could go issue by issue with you all, but no worries...
I will throw out one question, though. Do you think he would have had the support if he looked and spoke like Mayor Daley, but was the same person inside? I guess that I wonder that because I feel like we are so enamored by the fact that Mr. Obama is handsome and articulate. Not that those traits won't serve him well as he serves as president, but they are merely the outer shell to the inner person.
I hope my views are welcomed and respected here. I recognize that I am in the minority, but we can all live in harmony, right?
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

kirstiecat says:

Well, I disagree with you strongly. Being "bought" by Hollywood is largely different than people in Hollywood supporting you. That's not completely accurate either. There are still republicans in Hollywood and there are still Palin and McCain supporters there. I don't think Obama's main goals in office will be to help pay back Hollywood for their support whereas we've had alot of corporate handouts from previous presidents to that end. Do you see the difference? I hope so..it's really an important one.

I'm not a huge mayor Daley supporter to be honest but it has nothing to do with looks and more to do with what life is like on a daily basis in terms of public education. I have similar negative feelings towards Stroger. Absolute power corrupts absolutely and that's for either party and in Chicago, that's a problem imo. I was just talking about this with my parents about an hour ago to be honest as the city is somehow needing to borrow something like 400 million dollars and yet we have such high sales and property taxes and public education and roads are a mess...something doesn't add up here.

As far as the presidency goes, I don't know if I will agree with every single thing Obama does but I feel he has definitely picked a diverse cabinet of individuals and he takes the advice of others, even perhaps those who have betrayed him. It's true that he is charismatic but I think the largest reason why he won is because people are sick of the way the country has been run into the ground by Bush. We are facing the worst economic crisis and sending billions to Iraq when we have people in our own streets dying without healthcare who've lost their homes as well. I think it's easy for people in the suburbs who don't live in metropolitan areas to turn a blind eye to that but I see it. More families of my students are now homeless than ever before. Public education has become so poorly funded to accommodate the growing population, especially in metropolitan areas and that is my living reality. I do hope that Obama is, as a former community organizer, able to help alleviate some of this situation.

I have to be honest with you. I don't see myself as a liberal or a democrat anymore. I see myself as a progressive. I want change. I want freedom and not the pseudo freedom that Bush spoke about to justify spending billions of tax dollars on bombs. I'm talking about the freedom for out own citizens. To me, Bush isn't even a republican. Republicans are supposed to stand for fiscal responsibility and we are facing the largest debt my generation has ever known. Republicans are supposed to stand for government being hands off when it comes to people's rights and freedoms and this government has intervened through the patriot act and their "religious" ideals that limit rights to only the heterosexual.

Bush and Co. are the ones against change. They are the anti progressives and imo, anyone who is not willing to accept change and move forward is a danger to our country far greater than the civilians of a country who certainly weren't responsible for 911 in any way shape or form. The majority is ready to move forward and that is a blessing. I don't believe in blindly being patriotic to any one person and I feel that no matter who is in office, criticism is healthy but I do strongly believe that Obama represents a step in the correct direction and I really am, for the first time that I can remember, proud to be American and proud to have him elected as my leader.

I urge you to be open minded. The people of this country have suffered greatly under the presidency of George Bush. The neo cons have all had their turn to destroy America. It's time for something different now.
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

daniel (closing this account soon) [deleted] says:

Nicely written Kirstie. I think not just for the sake of the US, but most of the world over, it was important that the 'Bush' style of government be stopped and moved into a new direction for America to continue to grow.

Sure it helps that Obama is articulate, although I guess compared to Bush most people are. I just hope that peoples expectation don't get to out of control, as someone along the line will be disappointed with something Obama does. This is inevitable.
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

jetzgetzab (Gerhard :) says:

As a moderator of the group OBAMA'S FLICKR OF HOPE I share the hope, which is set in Barack Obama!
Gerhard from Germany :)

Admiringly invited to
OBAMA'S FLICKR OF HOPE.
Please join us and add this striking image to enhance our pool, and our world!

Please tag your photo with "OBAMA." ~ Post 1/Comment 3. ~ Thank you!
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

Robert Loerzel says:

Well, as far as the idea that Hollywood bought Obama: He undoubtedly received a lot of contributions from Hollywood, but he also broke the record for overall campaign funding, not I'm not so sure the percentage of money he's getting from Hollywood will end up being any higher than what Clinton or Gore received. Obama received a lot of small donations, and a lot of corporate money, too. The important thing is how much it will affect the way he governs. I don't have blind faith in him, but I am feeling some confidence that his intelligence and integrity will guide him to make decisions regardless of who gave his campaign money. We'll see...

And being articulate counts. Being a leader means communicating with people and even inspiring them, which is something that Bush and some of our other recent presidents have been woefully incapable of.
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

kirstiecat says:

Obama didn't take corporate or PAC money..that's my understanding, anyhow, which is why I donated a hundred dollars of my own money. Did you hear that you gave out food at a food shelter on the South side today and then spoke to school kids in an impromptu assembly at a school across the street from the shelter about doing their homework etc. Gosh, I love this man!
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

Southcoasting says:

Well said!

"Bought by Hollywood"?? He he. Guess that means he'll be given a guest spot in the next West Wing?! Dangerous stuff!
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

kirstiecat says:

Dangerous perhaps but I bet it would increase the ratings/viewers for that episode ;)

But I think Obama has better things to do with his time!!!
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

Robert Loerzel says:

Just to clarify, by "corporate money" I meant contributions from CEOs and executives at corporations. It's against the law for federal candidates to take money directly from corporations, so neither Obama nor McCain received money that way. Obama did refuse to take PAC money, which is how corporations often channel funds to candidates, but they also do it through donations by individuals. About half of Obama's money came from people who gave $200 or less.
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

58apache1 says:

Kirstie, I applaud you for being involved. But I urge you to continue to inform yourself, and not from just one or two sources...research, learn. You are young and it's admirable that you are passionate about our world. We've had decades of young people feeling that they didn't have a voice. I think that is the best thing to come out of this election.
I would like to pose to you this question; why are your views open-minded, and my views close-minded? Why do you ask me to open my mind? My mind has been open for decades and decades before you were born. I read and research and form my opinions based on knowledge of present day policies and of history~not hearsay or ideas or catch phrases. We disagree. That does not imply that one view is open minded and one view is close minded. I guess if I were to adopt that thinking, I would have to say that my educated, informed beyond the present election, is actually the open minded view of the two of us. But I wouldn't go there. I respect the opinions of others to the point of not insulting them. It would serve you well in the future to take that to heart. We can go nowhere if we cannot discuss our points of view without throwing arrows of accusation.
Another point I would implore all of you to research on before you comment or form an opinion on, is our current economic situation. Look at history. Do you know when the snowball of bad morgages was begun? Do you know who stood at the top of the hill and took those first snowflakes, patted them down and hurled it down that hill? They were very well intentioned, had a heart for the poor, but were very short-sighted. Research. Do you know who tried to stop that ever growing snowball as it plummetted down the hill, growing bigger and bigger? Do you know who added more snow to that now boulder? They were well intentioned as well, a champion of the poor. But, again, misguided and short-sighted.
Sorry to be so analagistic. It's my generation. We are dreamers as well. You need to learn what President-elect Obama holds dear to his heart. In practicality, not in catch phrases. You need to research, policy by policy, things he stands for. Change? That isn't specific enough for me. My generation questioned. You need to question. What do you hold dear to your heart? Is that where your candidate stands? Then, bravo! If not, speak up. Don't give a blanket endorsement~ you may find yourself saying, "wait a minute, I didn't sign up for this".
One more point, and sorry if I'm rambling. What president in our history held the same solution (as Obama) for his economic crisis of the time? It proved absolutely disastrous. That is why I couldn't support your candidate. I researched, I learned, I saw what strikingly similar policies did to our country in the past.
We can disagree, but please do not speak so condescendingly as to tell me to "open my mind". An open mind is a mind that does not simply accept what is fed to them. I've never done that.
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

kirstiecat says:

I don't really want to discuss any perception I might have of you in particular. I don't know you as a person and I don't know why you would have voted one way or another. I disagreed with the points you made and discussed why I felt the way I did.

I do feel that I inform myself actually but to be honest it is the republican way to take over large chunks of the media, Rupert Murdoch, Clear Channel, and try to feed the public a heapload of garbage.. I think even mainstream media is coming around now, though because Bush has so damaged this country in so many ways even they realize it.

I honestly don't want to have a discussion with you about this. No offense but the election is over. It's you who needs to have the open mind you are preaching about and see how this works out. I am not trying to convince you of anything because I don't really see the goal in me spending my time further trying to convince you that I'm an educated person or that Obama is the right president for this country now. It isn't up to me, anyhow. I have strong convictions and reasons behind every single thing I do and I have told you why I feel the way I do. I'll say it again...this nation needs to make progress. If you think you're going to change my mind about that, you're wasting your time and are not being realistic.
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

58apache1 says:

I will not post or read posts here again, Kirstie. This is your thing, not mine. I should never have spoken my mind here. My family was simply looking up directions to the Hideout, that's all.
You told me to "open my mind"..that's what I addressed. I just would love people to understand that there are people who disagree with you~and there will always be~ who you must deal with in a respectful manner. You were a bit insulting. But, this is your thing here, not mine..so say what you will. I felt very passionate about the election as well.
You are misinformed if you truly believe that the republicans have "taken over large chunks of the media". That is simply not true. The majority of the media has been proven to be liberal in its presentation of news and politics. It is a fact, not an opinion, not my 'opinion'.
I never meant to imply that you are not educated. I sincerely apologize if that came off that way. On the contrary, I applaud you at speaking your mind. Just don't stop there. Keep learning. It's a lifelong journey. I meant to be an encourager.
To all, please don't pre-judge those who disagree with you. We can all learn from each other.
In love and with respect.....goodbye.
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

kirstiecat says:

I just think you're saying two things at once, really and I guess I resent it. You are the one who insulted me, actually. I think the claims you are making are really ridiculous...that we have proven liberal media...that Obama was bought by Hollywood. I live on planet Earth in reality...I'm not sure the same can be said for you, honestly. You tell me to read and open my mind. Trust me, with your points of view, you need to be doing so yourself. I don't feel you have any kind of respect for my viewpoint, actually, because you come on and try to argue with the same garbage espoused by Fox News. You're not saying anything I haven't heard before but the talking points get tiresome. Obama, unlike our so called elected leader of the last 8 years, actually won an election without having connections to the people who owned and ran the voting machines or the people doing the counting. Imagine that...a true democracy. So your idea of opening up your mind and becoming educated is now *your* responsibility. I already did so and, as a result of my passion, we finally have a leader I can believe in.
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

Hello ChateauHo says:

I love The Hideout.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

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Comments

daniel (closing this account soon) [deleted] says:

Sebastien Bocos says:

kathalijne says:

Hervé ALL says:

space2k says:

faithdesired says:

Mr November says:

Robert Loerzel says:

soulrush says:

Magnaza says:

space versus ficciones says:

Southcoasting says:

kirstiecat says:

Hanana Co. says:

kirstiecat says:

solamore says:

mod_1981 says:

soulrush says:

Baba O ' riley says:

*ailicec* [deleted] says:

Sam Collins says:

FraPiti says:

Ashley Aguirre says:

'58apache says:

kirstiecat says:

daniel (closing this account soon) [deleted] says:

jetzgetzab (Gerhard :) says:

Robert Loerzel says:

kirstiecat says:

Southcoasting says:

kirstiecat says:

Robert Loerzel says:

58apache1 says:

kirstiecat says:

58apache1 says:

kirstiecat says:

Hello ChateauHo says:

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ailicec [deleted] says: