Feeling Compassion--Inspired by the Bushisms on CNN.com

Okay. The United States has a new President. There is no doubt we should welcome in the new and hope for the better, a change so many Americans are wishing for. Change can be good, who can deny that?

I can't help but feel sympathy and sadness for President Bush. Gasp!...Sorry, you guys! Some people may say he's uneducated, that he's inarticulate, or look at what he has done to our country over the last eight years!

He's a fallen man. A man who made mistakes. Some big. Some small. Whatever the error, he is still human. As humans, we are imperfect. We make mistakes.

Oh wait a minute, as President, shouldn't he (or she--one day) be held at a different standard? Yes, but should a man be belittled and ridiculed for every mistake? No.

If you said yes, then think about all of the mistakes you have made in the past. Then imagine what it would feel like to have each one replayed for the entire world to see and relive it for every single day that you have breath in your lungs.

Example:

Ouch, right? OKAY, so yeah, some of it IS funny (not the point)... Hopefully, he can find it humorous...but if he's like you or me, it's going to be more painful before he finds it comical (Oh before I forget, I don't like one-sided journalism. I don't like how the media attacks.)

Sure, man should recognize their mistakes, see their imperfections. Accept it, try to change what they can, and move on. Bush can't change anything he has done over the last eight years, neither can you or I.

I'm sure he is wondering what he could have done better for America. Yet, he has millions of people who hate him, who blame him for the state our country is in. Who, possibly, for quite a long time, will not be able to walk outside the comfort of his home without feeling the weight of regret, judgment, and ridicule. Do you think society will let him just forget? Do you think society will let bygones be bygones?

I don't.
It's not right.

We get to move on with our lives. We get to stash our mistakes away in a secret file in our minds. Maybe Bush can too. Maybe he's really strong and the public voice won't bother him. Who knows?

I wonder what Bush is feeling this very moment and what he's thinking. Also, I wonder the same about Obama.

Obama has a big burden on his shoulders. He has to try and repair a country that is in disarray economically, etc. My hope, is that he lives true to his promises of change. My hope is that he doesn't reach the bottom like Bush did. I hope our nation will get stronger and our leader will make the right choices, just as I hope the people of my country will too.


***SIDE NOTE: Please forgive any spelling, grammar, punctuation errors. It is really early in the morning and I'm a little loopy.

Welcoming the new, accepting the old, and hoping for a better "something."

2008 came as quickly as it disappeared. For the majority of this past year I spent it in a new country, or rather, my "motherland." I'm thankful for the people I have met, the places I have seen, and the experiences I was blessed with. If I had stayed within the confines of the Mississippi state line I would never have gone to Thailand, not have been as self-sufficient as I am right now, and possibly be stuck in a rut that I couldn't get out of. Living in South Korea has definitely been a good experience for me, even though I have felt lonely at times.

Hope. That is what I have for the new year. I hope to overcome my weaknesses and turn them into strengths. I hope for forgiveness and for answers.

I don't really have resolutions, but I have goals.

On New Year's Eve, I went to the center of Seoul to "hear the bell" ring. The massive amount of people was overwhelming. We were all squeezed and squished together making it very difficult to breathe. There was a semi-threatening wall of police men as well...the number of them was threatening, not that they had any sort of weapon. I didn't manage to get back to my drafty apartment until five and then slept till sunset.

Happy New Year...Make it the best.