16 years ago, we were still in the midst of George W. Bush’s second presidency. The war on terror was all-encompassing. It’s all that was talked about, mostly because the Bush administration made it a point to keep it issue #1 most of the time. And honestly, people were tired of being scared all the time.
(Little did we know, am I right?!)
Then Obama came onto the scene and offered a new message: Hope. That message was used a lot, and slotted nicely with the now-famous tagline “Yes, we can!” But I also remember an image, a poster, that embodied those principles, that feeling. Hope was in the air, and if we could just grab onto it, things would be ok. Of course, I’m talking about this poster:
Now, people will quibble with whether Obama was an effective President. But one thing they can’t argue is that he was not a good communicator. I’ve said here before that the power of a good speech can change hearts and minds. And that’s what he did.
I don’t know if Kamala Harris has that in her. I’ve only heard her speak a handful of times. But I’m going to get my chance in the upcoming 4 months. And honestly, my fingers and toes are crossed that she can deliver. On top of that, I saw this poster emerge on social media:
And I had that sliver of hope that it can be done again. That we can find some hope in this world where people continue to use hate and fear as a platform for removing rights and freedoms from their fellow man.
I’m trying not to get my hopes up too much. I’ve been known to do that, but I can’t help it. I want to feel that again. I want to feel that we are headed in a direction that is good. That is right. That we can look back on in 50 years and not say “what the hell were they doing?”
That’s my hope.
