Friends and Politics

I normally don't write about politics, because I realize that people's political views are intensely personal, and I don't wish to offend anyone with mine. But since we are almost at the end of this long season, I will risk it here.
I have learned a lot about my friends as we have weathered this contentious political season. Who and how they support their candidates has been interesting to watch. Of the friends who are willing to discuss such things, and I have many friends who just won't discuss politics, period, most seem to have been motivated by either fear or by hope.
I am at the stage in life where most of my friends have worked hard for many years at careers and businesses built over their lifetimes, and are either in their peak earning years, or are just starting to retire with substantial nest eggs. They are deeply concerned with keeping the money that they have worked hard for. And I think that is the one issue with which they are most concerned, and on which most have based the decision for whom to vote. These are what I think of as the "fear" voters. They are voting for McCain, because they are afraid Obama would take their hard earned money and "redistribute" it. From among this group, I have friends who were dining out recently. Their waiter sported an Obama button. At the end of the meal, they told said waiter that they were going to donate his tip to the Red Cross, because he supported Obama, and Obama supported re-distributing wealth. They were quite proud to tell this story. Another very good friend had lived through some racial unrest following the aftermath of the MLK assassinations. He voted for McCain because he thought that if Obama was elected, he would surely be assassinated and that would spark race riots which would threaten the lives of his children and grandchildren. These are deeply held and serious beliefs of people I love and care about. I respect their right to have and to act on these beliefs, and I am glad that they trust me enough to share these opinions and feelings with me.
Then on the other hand, I have what I think of as the hope voter group. I count myself in that number. We are not unafraid of what has become of our economy, our image in the world, our security, the state of our planet and it's finite resources. But we hope that the ideals of this eloquent young man who has run such a remarkable, tireless campaign and inspired so many of our young people will bring about a brighter future for us all. We are ready to take a risk for the sake of changes that we believe will benefit us all.
The eyes of the world will be on us tomorrow as we choose our new President. May God be with whoever wins this office, as it is a Herculean task.