A new day!

I am as beleaguered as anyone by the state of this economy, the lack of affordable healthcare, the loss of jobs, and the grind of ongoing war, but today, I have hope.

Mr. Obama's election means renewed hope in so many areas, but one of our most pervasive needs, when looked at from a global perspective, is a need to return to honor in the way we treat even our enemies.

One of the most stirring parts of Obama's inauguration speech for me was when he hinted at our need to return to the nation we once were in our dealings with the rest of the world; we have given up our ideals and our place of honor to take shortcuts in the name of fighting terrorism, something I have never felt was right. Obama alluded to it when he said:

"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals…. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake."

Bravo, Mr. Obama. Bravo.

(What does that have to do with being a lazy vegan? Nothing much, I guess, except I consider myself a bit of a "peace monger", too. Meaning that we can treat even our enemies humanely -- even if they wouldn't show us the same humanity if the situation were reversed. That doesn't mean we don't have to fight terrorism, of course, but we can do so honorably, in part by following the rules of the Geneva Convention, something that the previous administration largely ignored in the name of "protecting our safety." Today, I hope we have that "moral center," for lack of a better phrase, back.)