I want to be writing for Saturday Night Live!!!

Big week in politics.

Traveling pantsuits become a footnote in history. (Great line from Hilary, however)
A new VP candidate names Patagonia and North Face as her favorite designers.
An African-American man named as a nominee.
The 'old guy' pulls one out of the hat and states emphatically ...'game's on'.
The 'dental veneer society' names Joe Biden 2008 Poster Boy. (Sorry, but his teeth are really, really white)

It makes me want to be a writer for SNL. Really does. The possibilities for great satire are mind boggling. And who wouldn't want to be a politcal caroonist for the next few months? Oh, for the ability to draw.

Big week in politics turns into a big decision for America. It's a history making election, no matter who wins. Obama can do some permanent damage to the glass ceiling of race and the Governor of Alaska can continue to open doors for women. Both of these things are good for America.

But I'm worried.

I know people who won't vote for Obama solely because of his race. You know these people too. They scare me.

I know people who will hesitate mightily with marking their ballot for McCain/Palin, becasue she is a woman. They scare me too.

I think change is hard for people. When it involves race and gender it gets even harder for a lot of folks. For many, this is going to be a very difficult election. That's good. A lot of people I know have to come face to face with the 21st century. I hope they do.

But I'm worried.

This election will be history making but what happens after the election might make or break us.

I can think of a whole lot of decisions that are going to shape our future. Health care, our role in the world economy, the Middle East, the racial divide in America, immigration, right to life issues, poverty, and global warming come to mind immediately.

As a Christian, I have to admit, I have a lot of thinking and praying to do. No one candidate (or set) is going to satisfy me, giving me what I think I think I'll need to make a decision. I might have to settle for good, not the best.

My role, I think, is to use my influence to ask the questions thinking, prayerful people need to be asking. It's not enough, I don't think, to vote your historic party line or to focus in on one and only one issue to make a decision.

I want us all to think, to pray, to search Scripture ...to read extensively (both sides) ...because these issues are not easy to solve. They will require a long obedience in the same direction. There's no quick fix.

So, who will take us in a direction that will enable us to create the paradigms necessary to create the change that will lead to solutions? What do you think?