Hope

I have never in my life been so hopeful on the eve of a national election. And it doesn't have anything to do with who the eventual winner might be--it has everything to do with how awake, aware, and passionate our people are right now. No matter what our views on the issues or the leaders, we care. We are speaking. We are stepping out. We are thinking things through and weighing things out. We are leaning toward our television sets, watching debates in record numbers, registering to vote like never before.

In this election, kids with cell phones barely past voting age have a voice. They are welcomed and wanted--whether they have green hair and pierced eyebrows or button-down collars and Ivy League educations. This election, there is a unifying force--we care. If we were as cynical, disgusted, fed up, and hopeless as we sometimes say we are when it comes to our flawed political system, why would we lift our voices, pass along emails, drive to see candidates, watch the latest news reports, or take the time to vote?

Tonight, on this election eve, I want to jump up and down and say, "Our hope is alive, America!"--and it's right here where God put it, closer than our own heartbeats, in the vision we share of a better world.