In the hands of the future...

This felt like a very long campaign. Perhaps it felt longer to me, because it is the first (I shamefully admit) campaign for president that I invested so much of myself.
Having sons in the military, brought home the importance of who their future Commander In Chief would be. But more than that, I changed after 911, as so many of us did. Our safety here at home was shaken. I remember clearly during that time feeling so humbled by the outpouring of support from around the world. Much of it was coming from people who experienced terrorism more than once. I remember thinking, how ashamed I felt that I never really reacted with support for them as they were for us. I looked at them with awe and felt little by the largess of their compassion. That was my defining moment. I pledged to myself that I wouldnt turn a blind eye, or shrug with the subconscious thinking of "whew least its not here".
I suppose thats why I also support Iraq so strongly. We cant flee from the horror and ugliness of the things we dont want to confront any longer. Its in our face now.
But I digress...
A lot has been written about the "youth vote". Many were buoyed by the potential of this age group coming out to vote and the effect it would bear upon the election. Many were counting on it. Many were pulling for it. And now that the election is over, many are writing about it and analyzing it. Ive read often how disappointed but not surprised some were when the "youth vote" didnt turn out in the numbers that were expected or more to the point desired. But that wasnt my experience.
I was first struck at the age of a lot of the volunteers that I encountered during this campaign. Some very young, some still in their teens, some in barely in their twenties...I was impressed at the knowledge of the issues that they possessed, the ease in which they could talk from their own minds and hearts. And the responsible nature in which they attacked the tasks before them. I thought back to my own days of their ages and had to smile. I wasnt even close to knowing myself, let alone what I truly believed in. I was impressed at their eagerness to be involved, to have their say, to fight for the man they believed in. I was also struck that for ones so young how conservative and unflighty they were (and dont take that in the electoral terms of conservative vs liberal). It made me proud to meet them, work by them, learn from them. I would sometimes pause to listen to them while they were making phone calls, or watch as they talked to a possible volunteer. It made me proud of them, their parents, the communities they grew up in, and proud to see what the future generation of America looked like. I watched at the polls the day of the election. The number of young people, voting for the first time, looking a bit nervous but happy and eager to be there. There was an energy around them. A feeling of watching them enter into a new chapter in their lives. A right of passage. I chuckled when as we stood side by side watching the returns come in, their ages began to show. They jiggled from foot to foot, nervously anticipating every number. They reached out for a hand to make them feel more secure, or just a touch to say its ok...we are doing great. They lived and breathed each moment, urging the process to be done. They care...deeply...and love this country very much.
Maybe it is because 911 robbed them of the invincibility and innocence of never having been attacked here at home. Maybe they dont have the choice but to confront the ugliness of terrorism in the world. And each time it happens, even over there, they feel it, know it, and have to acknowledge it and suffer it with those that the terror was aimed toward. Who knows, but one thing is for sure. Next time you read about how the youth didnt care enough...know this...many do and care with respect, and compassion, and insight far more advanced than I had at their age. I am grateful for the experience of meeting them. I will keep in touch with a few, they are in my heart now. And I look forward to watching our country grow even more under their watchful eye.
May God bless them and bless us all.