A Chance to Change History, A Chance to Make History

As I write this, only 10 days remain until the 2008 Presidential Election. And in this election, Americans have a chance to change history and to make history at the same time. I remember when I first started voting, almost 40 years ago, that no one ever believed that a woman or an African-American would ever be elected President of the United States in our lifetimes. The history of our country would lead many to believe that we could never overcome the discrimination of our past and change the perception of the United States around the world.

Now we stand on the threshold of a history-making election. We can change that perception of America on November 4th by electing Senator Barack Obama of Illinois as our next President.

Sen. Obama has shown that he has the composure, and the intelligence to lead this country back to the greatness of the post World War II years. Those were times when the world knew that America stood for freedom and democracy around the world. President Kennedy realized that same thing when he started the Peace Corps in the 1960s. But the last eight years have seen our reputation sullied at the hands of the current administration. Our Constitution is under attack from within our own Executive branch. America's image is tarnished. Senator John McCain promises more of the same--an endless war in Iraq, and more tax cuts to the wealthiest one percent of Americans while the middle class continues to struggle with high health care costs, loss of retirement funds and foreclosures on homes. His choice of a completely unprepared running mate brings his judgment into serious doubt. We have a chance to move forward and regain our stature around the world, and to show the rest of the world that we can, indeed unite as one nation, and move beyond the past eight years into a new decade of leadership.

I support Barack Obama for President, and I hope that you will join with me in voting for him on November 4th.

The opinions stated in this blog are solely my own, and in no way represent the Physics-Earth Sciences Department or Central Connecticut State University.