"I Felt the 'Fierce Urgency of Now' in Dallas"

Post from Sam Graham-Felsen's Blog: Check out this Burnt Orange Report diary from a Texan who attended the rally in Dallas on Wednesday.


“I'm a son of two teenage parents, born into a middle, and often time's, poor class home in Euless, Texas. Our family struggled through Reaganomic's like most families did during the 80's. Despite the hard times, we talked about, and prayed about the hope of a better day. My father worked at times three jobs while my mother stayed at home to tend to my brother, later my sister, and I. We lived in a trailer home for some time in East Texas where we often lived off of macaroni, cheese, and tuna. My father took up the trade of being a brick mason and managed to stabilize our nuclear family as a standard middle class family in Euless, Texas. Despite these struggles we always talked about, and prayed about, the hope of a better day.


My mother was a stay at home mom who, with strict discipline, challenged my siblings and me to work harder, think smarter, and demand better of ourselves. To hope that better days would lay in our future by being good contributors to society and that through our hard work we too can achieve the American Dream and not have to struggle like they did.


The power of hope is what has sustained my family and defined my life. It is what has managed to build the foundation from which my 28 years of life bore, thus far, for all to see. Hope is all that millions of Americans have these days after the eight years of pure hell we've experienced under Bush administration policies. Hope is what leads me to believe that, with hard work, a little intelligence, giving back to my community, and a bit of discipline, that a gay man from Euless, Texas, can be president some day.


This, all of these thoughts, are what wound through my mind as I listened to (Senator Barack) Obama. It is what I reflected on as we drove home this afternoon. It is what has tears in my eyes as I write. My life is hope.


And hope is what is sending me to the polls 10 minutes from now to cast my vote for Barack Obama, and caucus for him at 7:15pm on March 4th.”

This is the kind of inspiration that Senator Obama is bringing to the American people. Hope is what drives people to put one foot in front of the other and move from baby steps to long strides toward realizing your dreams.