96 Days To Go: Regaining Hope

Ok, I left you all in suspense last night, and I need to be honest that it was in large part due to fatigue.

In large part, the people i've talked to in Merrimack and throughout the state have had a different fatigue, and that is probably the biggest factor in what I have seen as the biggest issue our state and indeed, our country faces this fall.

It isn't healthcare, it isn't Iraq, it isn't the economy or gas prices, it isn't education or the environment or taxes or immigration or for that matter, any other thing we'd probably truly classify as an issue.

In reality, the biggest issue I see is that people might care about these or other issues, but they feel powerless to do anything about it, or they've stopped caring altogether due to the grinding and seemingly unjust nature of "the system". Here in Merrimack, it's a lack of faith that we can ever achieve a fair and equitable turnpike system.

Before we solve any of the numerous problems our state and our country face, we first must address the the lack of faith, the lack of hope many of us feel towards the world beyond ourselves.

We must say to all people throughout our state and throughout our nation from all walks of life, from all ideological backgrounds, that they if work hard, and respect and do not harm others, they can have a chance to achieve whatever they dream, and we must say this not just with empty rhetoric, but with a tangible framework to facilitate their efforts rather than an all encompassing and strangling bureaucracy or an outsourced and soulless network that only helps a privileged few.

Because what we've lost as a nation and as a state doesn't belong to just one side of the political spectrum, it's larger than that. What we've lost is the hope of the American Dream, the unassailable belief that anything is within anyone's reach if they are just willing to grasp it, and we can reattain this if we choose to do so by working with each other rationally towards concrete solutions to the problems we face rather than engaging in endless dogmatic rancor like we have seen in the past.

I believe we can do this, but I am only human. At times I will falter, and I will ask you all to help me when I stumble towards this goal. And in return, if I am able, I will help you when you falter as well.

In the end, none of us can regain the hope we once had as a nation alone, but I am certain we will regain it if we keep on moving forward.