A New Dawn for America?

The morning the New Year dawned I woke up feeling positive about the future. That hadn’t happened in some time. For much of the previous two years a depressing pall hung over my life. I noticed that a similar pall hung over the country. But 2010 opened with a glimmer of hope… a lighter feeling… a bit of excitement. I related these feelings to some friends and when they asked why I thought I felt differently, I really couldn’t explain it.

Who would have known that any news out of Massachusetts would have provided a glimpse into my glimmer of hope… a tentative glimmer to be sure… but there is no doubting the hopeful feeling inside. Scott Brown… Chevy truck… healthcare reform is dead… Democrats getting frantic… Kennedy’s seat… wake-up call… Is it Martha or Marcia Coakley? Each of these words and phrases fueled the hope within until I heard the news… Brown Wins! Then in his acceptance, Brown declared: “This isn’t Kennedy’s seat, or my seat, but your seat!”

That is like music to my ears. I detest the growing political aristocracy in America. Political offices are a right of passage to some. To others the seat is bought off. And still to others, once they get the office, it becomes their job… their profession. Brown has the right idea… the seat belongs to the people and those that the people put in the seat serves them. Where has this idea gone?

Well, I’m happy for Scott Brown and the Republican Party. I’m happy that there is a chance to turn the tide of big fat government controlling every aspect of our country. There is a chance that the free enterprise system can be saved from government take-over. Maybe some sanity will set in and we’ll learn to live within our means, strengthen the dollar, and re-establish the hope of America.

However, I have a warning for Scott Brown and other Republicans like him. First, don’t get caught up in the thought that the Massachusetts shocker is a repudiation of the Democratic Party and a mandate for the Republicans. It has little to do with party, but everything to do with ideals… conservative ideals.

I’m a registered Republican, but I’m a conservative American first. I believe in a lean central government that fulfills the mandate written in the Constitution. I think the Founding Father’s stand head and shoulders above their peers and see hardly anyone today who can even be considered their peer. I believe in America’s Christian heritage that opens the door to other religions and non-religions to exist in a free society. I believe in our imperfect but free enterprise system that fuels the greatest nation on earth. When these things are tempered in the hands of a moral people… a people who accept personal responsibility… then truly there is such a thing as an American dream.

So, is it a New Dawn for traditional American ideals? I truly hope so. As for now, my hope index is up… may yours be too.