Finally

A few years ago I started thinking about having children. They say you never really know when the time is right but I was trying to work out some things in my mind. Most of them were highly personal things but I was consumed with an issue that I could not shake. Every time the news would show another world disaster I would ask myself, “Can I really bring a child into the world as it is now?”

Well obviously, I had a child anyway but I felt it was my personal duty to ensure he could be raised in a country that was headed down the right path. I remember seeing Barack Obama on Oprah several years ago and thinking, “If this man was the president, things would be okay.”

I can’t imagine raising Andrew in the world of the last 8 years. At no point was I inspired by Bush. At no point did I feel like “everything would be okay”. At no point did I feel hopeful for our future.

But yesterday Barack Obama was sworn into office and I think about the world he has already created with that accomplishment. I hope because of his presidency, Andrew will never fully understand discrimination and racism. I hope that he will live in a world that becomes less poluted rather than more poluted. I hope that he will grow up in a time when we are at peace in the world and terrorists do not fly planes into buildings. I hope that he will grow up to look with dignity on his country. I hope that he will hope. If Mr. Obama has taught us anything it is to believe in the impossible. I can’t think of a better lesson for my baby boy.

I don’t worry anymore about raising him in this world. I know the world is his to change.

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