i love America

I love America. I love America for what it is, for what our founding fathers stood for, and for the freedoms I enjoy each day because of this great land and the people who have defended her.

But then I wonder how many Americans also love America when I read this article on CNN today - Obama poised to rebrand America.

Several of the "expert" quotes really saddened me:

"Americans can actually go to dinner parties and cocktail receptions around the world today and not have to apologize for the United States the way they have had to do the last several years. The election has made life a little bit easier for Americans living and traveling abroad to hold their head up high again."
John Quelch, the senior associate dean at Harvard Business School

"The arrival of Obama, as an African-American president, gives people a reason -- an excuse even -- to start loving America again."
Robin Oakley, CNN's European political editor

Who are these people who are ashamed of America? Why? We are the greatest nation on earth and I don't understand why people feel like we have to apologize to the rest of the world for this. We have the greatest freedoms, the greatest democracy. We had all this before Obama was elected. These people who are ashamed, who can only love America now that Obama has been elected...I just don't understand them. If they're so unhappy, why can't they just leave our country then? What's with the trash talk? Although I guess Obama makes everything better now that they want to stay...I understand you can be upset about Bush. There are things he've done that I've just shook my head in disappointment. But he's still my President and this is still my country, and I'm still going to hold my head high because I live in this "greatest nation on God's green earth" (to steal a line from Michael Medved, hehe). And I probably won't agree much with Obama, but I'm still going to stand behind him as my President. I refuse to talk trash about my America.

And if you think about it...you don't see people trying to illegally get into other countries...No offense to those countries, but America must be pretty great if everyone's trying to move here and take advantage of how good we have it. And that's my rant for the day.

respect & love

I like this - a sign at a rally - "America respects John McCain, America loves Sarah Palin." That really just struck me as wow. I want to respect & love my leaders. Could anyone say those 2 words of Obama-Biden?

On to the economy...McCain-Palin vs. Obama-Biden.

The funny thing here is how fleshed out & coherent McCain-Palin plan is. I really like the last words "In the first 100 days of our administration, we will look at every agency and department and expenditure of the federal government and ask this simple question: Is it serving the needs of the taxpayer? If it is not, we will reform it or shut it down, and we will spend money only on what is truly in the interest of the American people."

But then you get to Obama and the article is aptly named "Obama 3.0" - obviously he doesn't know what he's talking about and is continually having to change his plan. And then when you actually try to understand his plan, it's just a bunch of numbers and percentages that I don't really get. I wish he would be more straight with us about what he's going to do if elected.

new hope

My running schedule has been pretty stagnant for the past month. I haven't run much farther than 7 miles since my 14 mile run. I have plenty of reasons...inclement weather, unbearably hot weather, busy schedule, blah blah blah. And recently, I've had some personal stuff that's really been getting me down to the point where I have no motivation to run.

I went running today and only made it through 3 miles before I just stopped. I didn't want to go on. It's weird because when I was younger, I used to run whenever I had problems. And I would run and run and run, at any time of day, if I was frustrated with anything. But now, I just lose hope and stop. It's frustrating and sad. But it just proves to me that 90% of running truly is psychological. If in my head I can believe past all my problems that I can do it, I can. I know my body can, because I've seen my body do it. It's my mind that is holding me back. We win, we lose...but can I believe enough to get me through each win & loss?

Well I was walking at the end, and approached where I had left my water, and I found this:

Aw! I cried. I sat down and cried. How can I be so narrow-focused that I miss the people in my life who really, truly love me and support all my efforts? There my water cup was refilled and the sweetest message spelled out on the driveway. There is hope ahead of me, I just have to keep at the foremost of my mind. Not just in running...in everything.

"This is a blessing."