Americans Turn Another Page

Americans Turn Another Page
Pedro Angel Serrano
20th January 02009



The most often heard statements today have been about how the election of Barak Hussein Obama represents the changes the United States has made over a single life time.

But there is such a thing as short term history. Looking back to the recent past to inform where we are today. It's people who make history not the events. To me it seems that one of the things that moves is those people are there priorities; What for them comes before anything else.

I remember back in the 2000/2001 election when the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth adds were out attacking John Kerry. Bush was being asked to comment on them from some and to say they were wrong from others.

When he did it made was front page news.

Since I had no change for the vending box I squatted down to read his statement. George W. Bush said "They were bad for the system." A short laugh came out of my mouth. Then I said out loud to myself,
"He's doing the best that he can. There are six billion people on this planet and they are All doing the best they can with what they know and what they have available to them." Just because I thought his best was lame didn't matter.

As I walked to the train station I remembered John McCain's on TV, when asked what he though of the adds said they were, "dishonorable."

WOW!!!

So here were two men, one being of service to a "System" and another being of service to something called "Honor": Priorities.

John McCain's priorities where why I wanted to see him get the Republican nomination for President in 1999/2000. But on the eve of an important primary, I believe South Carolina, thousands of potential voters were phoned and asked if they knew John McCain had an illegitimate Black child.

OH! and his wife was a drug addict! No one was more surprised then she was.


Who did that? Republicans did that: Priorities. Needless to say he's not the first veteran to have his name dragged in the mud. He won't be the last. I feel I live in a country where being a hero isn't enough any more. Why? Priorities.


There are a lot of hopeful people today. In nations across the planet there has been a change. A reporter who was part of a round table discussion on the election told a story about being in another country after the election and having a guard when he found out this guy was an American straightened himself up and saluted him. "That's unheard of!"

Turn a page and the story can take an unexpected twist.
There have been several unexpected twists for the last couple of years. And it will be people who fill the pages of history. As we always have.

I try to ask periodically what it is I am being of service to. Not a painless process but I think, only because I have been told, it has led me to create a better world for those around me.

In fact I asked myself what I was being of service to while writing this.



The Rev. Pedro Angel Serrano