I have wanted to write for ages but never seemed to find the right moment. It always seemed that although I had the drive the will and the hope somehow one of those things would not translate well and I would end up with nothing. No stories, no more ideas, just broken dreams and empty hopes. By eighteen I was supposed to be published but somehow I have just turned twenty and still no book under my belt. I wanted to be able to travel the world and write witty and provocative accounts of my adventures but nothing came out. Until one night I realized that it was enough. It seemed that I had this hope in the back of my mind that I could always grow up to be a writer if it all didn't work. This false assurance that for sure if I just started everything else would sort itself out. Why? Did I possess such audacity to believe that all I had to do was begin to write down my thoughts and the rest would follow? I am not exactly sure why but nonetheless that is were I have ended up. A hope that i must try but it seems that I have almost been so scared of my false confidence that I have prevented myself from doing the one thing I really feel drawn to. When I look into the world of politics I see good people ending up throwing their lives out the window. The hearts of many are fooled by the smooth words of just a few. Leaders seem to be manufactured nowadays like action figures each with their own special blue cape and warning labels. Its as if humanity has forgotten. Forgotten that true leadership comes in the form of a servant. One who is willing to be the last and serve the weakest in hopes not to get votes but rather to truly help. Why are we continually focusing upon the unnecessary? Are we too afraid as a society to maybe except someone who looks perhaps a bit different. Fear when it rules a person destroys so it does the same when it rules an entire nation. A society forgetting that we are held together not by our similarities but by our differences. Brought to a common place for similar goals yet nothing else brings our lives together. We stand as Americans not because we have the same skin color or religion but because we believe in the good of man and the hope that with hard work and passion we can achieve any dream. Why did I vote for Obama? It was not because I believe in pro choice or gay marriages but because I believe that fear should not rule us. The very fact that he is different from all presidents that have come before grants me a strong hope. If America was not created to give a mixed boy raised by a single parent the opportunity to cross the lines of race than what is the point of the country? America is made up of peasants who pursued a different path. It opened the door for millions to break the curses of generations as servants. We are not a country with a strong lineage or ancient history but we are a nation that touches the entire world. Rather than running from others and hiding in the comfort of a vast military or deep oceans we must recognize that it will not be terrorism that will kill us or a nuclear bomb. Before this destroys the world a surrender to fear and acceptance of the walls of prejudice will desecrate us as a society. The moment we accept the belief that that what we do not know or understand is wrong, that everyone else is in someway different from us that is when we have failed as a society.