Change We Can Believe In
I have a confession to make. I am a political junkie. I spend way too much time reading online newspapers and journals that focus on all things political. It is not hard for me to catch myself daydreaming about various possible scenarios for election outcomes, or listening to journalists who talk on and on with endless spin. In the same way that a devoted sports’ fan follows the season, this year’s presdiential election has kept me occupied for many nights as I watched the election returns for primary after primary and all the twists and turns along the way. Saturday Night Live has re-entered my small list of television shows that keep my rapt attention.
This has been an exciting campaign and there have been many things that were heartening in comparison to previous ones, but one unfortunate similarity to the past was the ever present negativity that never seems to end. At the beginning of the campaign I felt that if any of the candidates would be able to stick to a promise of civil discourse and mutual respect it would be John McCain and Barack Obama. Sadly, when I speak to most people today they tell me they are happy that the election will be over so we won’t have to hear the endless attack ads that have once again taken over the airwaves.
Both candidates have promised change to the American people. Both say they want to take the country in a new direction. Both also have supporters who simply want to blame the other candidate or political party for being the problem and who sometimes seem completely frightened about what might happen if the other guy is elected.
I would like to suggest another way that we might bring about positive change for our country which goes beyond politics. It starts small, but has the possibility to bring about enormous good. What if each one of us made the commitment today to examine our own lives for the ways in which we could become a better person? Once we have discovered our own biggest challenges to personal growth we can each make a plan for positive change in our own lives and then follow through with that plan.
One of life’s hardest lessons for me has been to discover than the only person I really have any control over is myself. When I try to control others or change them into something I think they ought to be, I fail everytime. But everytime I have honestly committed to changing myself for the good and have been willing to work hard at it, I have had success. A recent example of positive change for me has been this blog. Getting back into writing has been on my list of things to do for quite some time, but I put it off again and again with the excuse that it needed to be perfect before I could begin. Waiting for perfection is one of the best ways of never doing anything at all. One day I simply decided to start writing again and not to worry so much about my words having to be perfect. I would focus my efforts instead upon making the writing better as time progressed. This little piece of cyberspace has allowed me to collect my daily thoughts, to meditate on ideas that many times make their way into homilies, and in a truly unexpected way has opened the door to some new and what I hope will be lasting friendships.
As I watch the election returns tonight I will be hoping that my candidate of choice will emerge victorious, but I don’t really expect that the changing of presidents is going to bring about any lasting change for my life. I do know that my own willingness to see myself as a sinner who is in need of God’s mercy will continue to be important. I know that there will always be areas in my own life that require work and that I can be assisted by the love and concern of friends. I know most of all that if I really want positive change that it will have to begin with me. That, my friends, is change I can believe in.
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