A (Re)New(ed) Beginning ...

This morning I sit with my coffee and watch a new snow fall. It is our third snow, this one much lighter than the previous two (so far). And somehow, it seems more innocent, more pure.

My heart is soaring this morning. After we got home from the Democratic Headquarters party last night, I was more tired than I've been in a long time.

This morning, it's beginning to sink in: our country has been proven to be a healthier place than I've believed in recent years.

I spent the early part of my morning reading through past emails and blogs. From 2001 until the present, I've apparently been through the gamut. Arguments, please for fairness, the promotion of compassion ... I just can't put it into words.

These sentiments are not about politics. They are about truth and justice and fairness.

Until last night, I had come to believe that our nation was a dark place. A place where (politics aside), arguments were dominated by one group's perspective and controlled though fear.

I am sure the Democrats will make mistakes. Perhaps even as many as the Republicans over the last 16 years.

But we showed last night that we as Americans CAN have debates and discussions and listen to one another (though we still have a long ways to go). We CAN choose to see that the world is a complex place, where demonizing our enemies is seen to be the intellectual fraud that it is. We CAN choose to change, even elect a minority to serve in the highest office in the land.

We CAN listen to each other. We CAN rebuild the bridges of angry division and stop calling each other "traitors" when we disagree. We CAN end our political disputes with warm words instead of rancor. We CAN celebrate our democracy, instead of feeling disenfranchised.

We CAN choose the path of love and forgiveness, and leave behind the ways of force and revenge.

We CAN debate and discuss and not fear derisive snorts. We CAN all now admit, whether we win or lose in our cultural struggles, that we are proud to live in America, where anything is possible and where the color of our skin and the nature of our politics is less important that the judgment of truths we hold to be self-evident.

We CAN rebuild our damaged democracy. We CAN listen to each other without hatred or scorn. We CAN civilly disagree without physical or social consequence.

Yes We Can.