Change

I can appreciate the fact that tomorrow will be a day well remembered in history. Our country has come a long way with electing a black American as President of the United States; evidence that we live in a land of opportunity and growth. This is change.

Indeed our country has been in need of a morale boost, a need to find faith in ourselves, individually, and as a nation, a need to make lives better, and to become united on the home front. Many believe that Barack Obama will be the one to make these changes. I hope he is successful in bettering our nation for all of our sake. However, should we put all of our trust and allow our fate to rest on one man?

I watched Oprah today in all of her anticipation for Obama to take the oath, and listened to hers and other's gushing excitement. Oprah and so many of her guests repeated that the nation is going to be better because of his election. Oprah absurdly announced, "I am better because of his being elected." Faith Hill said, "We've been called." Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher said, "He inspires us to change." They all speak of their desire for personal change.

I admit I am pleased that these people want to change themselves and to better our nation. Yet why is it that they didn't want to make these changes when President Bush was in office? Haven't we always been called to do our part for this country? Shouldn't we always be inspired to change our deteriorating environment, our personal consumption of the world's resources, the need to serve others and reach out and help the less fortunate?

Why wasn't Usher helping renovate an inner city school in D.C. before the inauguration? Why didn't Demi and Ashton make their pledges to end 21st century slavery three to four years ago? It was also said by Oprah that the county wants to be better because of his election. Shouldn't we always want to be a better nation? Shouldn't Justin Timberlake always have a "swagger in his step" to be an American and not just after election night?

Where was their personal accountability before the election of Barack Obama?

Demi Moore said it best when she said, "We are the change." Yes, we are. We are the change; we are the ones that need to make the difference in this demoralized country. The new president will bring change, yet the biggest change needs to come from us. Our personal choices have the biggest effect upon this nation; our choice to love or hate our neighbors, our choice to steal or give back, our choice to consume or preserve, our choice of bitterness or forgiveness, our choice to remain stagnant or to move forward.

I'm happy that so many people want to be better and to want to change our nation for the best. But please don't insinuate that the lack of your desire to do or be a better person is because of President Bush's tenure. If he did such a terrible job, your change to be a better person/nation should have been years ago and not just within the last two months.