Happy July 4th!

In 1993, I was fortunate enough to travel with a group from my high school to the Presidential Inauguration in Washington , DC . While we participated in many events and visited numerous places, certainly the event that made the most remarkable impression on me was the actual inauguration ceremony. There, in span of a few minutes, President George H. W. Bush became former president, while Bill Clinton became President Bill Clinton. Both men stood only a few feet apart. Both had just endured a long campaign. Power was transferring from one political party to the next - with only a short recitation of an oath. No bloodshed, no intimidation, no fighting. After the ceremony, Bush left via helicopter, Clinton rode in the presidential limo to the White House. Simply remarkable.

Fast-forward to Zimbabwe today. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai initially wins against highly corrupt long-time leader Robert Mugabe. However, Mugabe is in charge of releasing the vote totals. After holding the results secret, Mugabe declared that Tsvangirai did not have a majority and there would be a run-off. Over the last month leading up to the run-off, Tsvangirai has been arrested, run out of town, and threatened, while his supporters have been beaten, harassed, and intimidated to the point that Tsvangirai withdrew from the election. Mugabe then forced everyone to vote and claimed victory a few days ago, holding on to his power. The world has called the election a sham, but yet Mugabe still maintains his power. Meanwhile, the people of Zimbabwe face 4 million percent inflation - that number is not an exaggeration.

In America, George W Bush is highly unpopular, the economy is sagging, and the war in Iraq has been heavily criticized. McCain and Obama, campaigning to succeed Bush, trade barbs daily in the race to the White House. It looks like over the next few months we will see McCain and Obama go after each other as hard as they can. As nasty as our politics in America can be, come January, our new president will be sworn in as Bush stands a few feet away, and as the losing candidate heads back to the Senate. Bush will get in a helicopter and fly away, the new president will ride in a limo to the White House. And while some may be upset or depressed that their candidate didn’t win, we will peacefully continue on as a free, democratic nation. Perhaps Zimbabwe will claim the same one day. Happy July 4th!