The Audacity of Hope, Indeed

There's an awful lot of hope flying around today. Here we are, at the very precipice of change, and I see only two ways down: one leads to unbridled success, the other to uncontrollable failure. The chasm of terrible between the possibilities concerns me to no end, and I would very much rather take the first path than the second.

We, the American people, officially have a black president! Segregated water fountains are still in living memory. It's only just outside my lifetime that busing minorities into white schools nearly brought the country to its knees. I, and everyone I know, now regard skin color as little more than a benign twist of fate. We, everyone who voted, have done a momentous thing. It is a thing we must never forget, come what may.

I spent an hour or so crafting and deleting several more paragraphs outlining my concerns for the future before I realized that it doesn't matter--it wasn't the concerns that drove me to write this. I worry about war, torture, terrorism, corruption, recession, socialism, and racial strife--and that's just right now, not even a comprehensive list. Yet, I retain my optimism. Even as I think of all the terrible things that may be ahead, I can't help but feel...something.

Despite all the darkness I see looming on the horizon, I am warmed by the indomitable light of hope, and it truly seems audacious.