“ If by a “Liberal” they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a “Liberal”, then I’m proud to say I’m a “Liberal””. – JFK 

As I reflected on this year’s presidential election, I formulated a few thoughts that I am delighted to share.

1. We are truly a divided nation, and this will cost us greatly if we cannot come together- last night, on all of the news stations and in the messages of both Governor Romney and President Obama, there was a clear message of understanding that we are divided as a nation in terms of ideas and moving forward politically, and this must change. I truly hope that both sides will be able to come together to make decisions that benefit us holistically, regardless of bias, personal agendas, and bigotry. It is time to go beyond all of these and pay attention to the needs of our country and the people in it; we need the change that started 4 years ago to continue, and the only way to do it…is to have a united front.
2. Too much money is spent on elections– I am anxious to see if Romney will be the blame for the large price tag on the republican side for this election…but one thing to consider is the way that we as a nation of Americans must be persuaded to vote. It should come more as the expectation of a social responsibility that we have to continue with the progression of our nation and should be less about mudslinging, and who has the best campaign announcements, commercials, galas etc. Money raised for this election could have benefited us in a greater way.
3. We need a movement to transform our society and shift our norms into modernism…it is time! – it amazes me how as a society we can be so progressive in some areas, and so delusional and stunted in others… last night on CNN, I heard a good argument that was made in terms of a regression by the republican party over women’s issues…leaving the “abortion” issue and focusing on “birth control” as a new human reproduction regulation method that turned into an absolute nightmare and embarrassment for conservatives. It is ideals and policy like this that will continue to harm us…it is time to be understanding, accepting, knowledgeable, adaptable, and afford people the opportunity to make decisions that best suit their own health and well-being. In my opinion that is the free will that God allows for…stop using religion, faith, and God as an EXCUSE to deem what is and is not acceptable. GLBT issues and equal marriage rights are another issue, but I will digress for now.
4. I believe in Barack Obama…enough said on that one!
5. Young people are paying more attention to what is going on than we think, and the change that we need will start with holding their attention and keeping them active and engaged- from our generation of youth who will soon become old enough to vote, to our traditional college-age population of 18-22, our working class young people 18- 35 and all others between the ages of 18-35 need to invest in, and become an active part of the movement.
6. Education is still the key to a successful future. We need to change it, endorse it, and provide equal access to opportunities for all of our citizens. –more thoughts/info. On this will continue to come because of course that is what BBS is all about.
7. In the next four years, we need to pay more attention to: the Middle East; immigration reform; our economy; the private business sector; and public policy and programs.- these are the hot button issues/topics. I am interested to see how they will manifest themselves into our ideals, policies, and how the media will react and respond to them.
8. Barack Obama has made history once again!! Congratulations to him, his team, his family, and supporters all over the world 

Finally, I will close with a quote regarding the being a “liberal”. I think it is fitting because I believe this is the new “movement” that is taking place in our society, and the geographical shifts in voting during the last election and this one, prove this to be true.

“ If by a “Liberal” they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a “Liberal”, then I’m proud to say I’m a “Liberal””. – JFK