A Change is Coming

I view myself as an independent. I really don't like the two-party system. I don't like political parties in general. I like to vote for the best candidate. While I lean more toward the liberal side of things, I try not to let that control my vote from year to year. My parents are Democrats and my brother is a devout Republican. It makes for some lively conversations at family gatherings.
I honestly didn't know who I was going to vote in this election. I actually really liked Hillary Clinton, but she lost the primary. So I was kind of left stumped. And I didn't really care. I mean, I even considered not voting at one point. I voted in 2000 and 2004, but it didn't matter then, so why should it matter now?
When I went to vote yesterday, I overheard a few people behind me who were very vocal in their support of Barack Obama. I found it amusing at first -- I would never vocalize my tendencies at the polling place. I generally don't vocalize them to anyone who isn't my friend or family member. But these people were passionate about Obama's message, and it really got to the heart of this election.
People finally care.
This country is in disarray. The economy is declining fast; gas prices are unstable; jobs are being shipped overseas; companies are going belly-up; and we are still involved in a war that I honestly don't think we can win.
So as I stood there holding my 4-month-old daughter, I looked at her and started to tear up a little bit. Because even though I didn't care in 2000 or 2004, I care now. I care about what happens for her future in this country. I care whether she will be able to go to college and find a job that she enjoys, whether she will be able to afford the gas for her first car, and whether she will be able to live in a time when this country isn't at war.
I don't know if Barack Obama can fix everything. I don't subscribe to the belief that as soon as he takes office in January, everything will be sunshine and roses again. But I believe he cares, and I have seen how people have responded to his message that things can change for the better again.
We need to care, and we need someone to care about us, the middle and lower classes.