How far have we come?

Well, no surprises about our president-elect. It was a historical night, and of course I am proud that our country has progressed to the point where we can elect a black president, but that's about it. Watching all the happy, teary-eyed people celebrating on TV last night made me sad. I'm afraid that they're not going to get what they thought they were voting for. Our country is at rock bottom, everyone wants "hope and change" in a profound sense, and Obama hijacked people's dreams and turned them into an empty catch phrase to win the election. Nothing about his voting record shows any modicum of "change." He's bound by the corporations who got him into office by paying for the most expensive campaign in history. He isn't what he pretends to be. He fooled us all.

Will things get better? Of course. I believe they would have gotten better if McCain had been elected too. Let's face it... there's nowhere to go but up at this point. But will we get sufficient health care reform? I doubt it. Will we drastically cut military spending and give proper support to education? Probably not. Most importantly, are we going to get corporate lobbyists out of Washington? Absolutely not. And let's face it, "we the people" will continue to be screwed while corporations control our government.

Obama may have fooled us to get into office. I have very little faith in him. However, his campaign did kick people in the butt and wake them up. People are mobilized now; we're waiting for him to cash in on his promises of change. He'll be held to a high standard, and maybe, just maybe, he'll be forced to start acting, voting, and fighting along the lines of his campaign's slogan. I don't see it happening myself, but I'm hoping he'll prove me wrong. He has the chance to kick some butt, and turn me into the fool for having no faith in him. 

Finally, I would like to address my shock and disgust that prop 8 passed in CA. It's sad that on the night our country makes such a historical decision that reminds us all of how far we've come as a nation, the most progressive and liberal state in the nation passes a blatantly discriminatory and unconstitutional law taking away the rights of its citizens. Discrimination is apparently alive and kicking, so how far have we really come?