My American Prayer

Another insanely inspirational Obama video! Ok, this video is representative of what I feel fairly often about Obama's candidacy. It's not just that I think he's a wonderful man and that I think he will make an excellent President. It's about the massive community of people who have come together to try and get him elected. The grassroots campaign for Obama is like nothing this country has ever seen. Consider how many donors he has to his campaign. Over 2 million individual citizens have donated to him so far. And that was at last count, which was a couple months ago. This whole campaign has been about more than just Barack Obama. He's said a number of times that it's not about him. It's about all of us. And, honestly, this is more than a campaign. It's a movement.

The song was written by musician Dave Stewart along with Bono of U2. About the creation of this video, Dave says:

"When I set out to make a video for the new version of this song, I wanted to honor all of those millions of people, especially young people, who are, for the first time, feeling empowered to voice their beliefs. I wanted to capture how Obama's message of change has echoed across the broad fabric of what is America. To do that, we've cast the film with an eclectic array of personalities, including Forest Whitaker, Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, Cyndi Lauper, Barry Manilow, Joan Baez, Macy Gray and Joss Stone. They appear alongside veterans, teachers and everyday citizens -- all of whom have been touched by this simple idea of change.

As an Englishman, I'm not an expert in all the intricate details of American politics. But as an artist, I understand how rare it is to inspire a connection to a bigger idea or purpose. This video isn't so much an endorsement of Barack Obama as much as it is a celebration of all those who have picked up a sign, who have registered to vote and are working to make the world a better place. So as Senator Barack Obama ascends to the mountain top, let us not forget all of the others who for the past 40 years have sung anthems of change to make this moment possible."

The entire video is wonderful, but the bit that shows Martin Luther King, Jr. always gets to me. And the homeless veteran, he gets to me too. It makes me feel so good that I'm just about ready to finish up my end of this charity project I've been helping out with. My Knitters for Obama group has been knitting items for homeless veterans and coordinating different shelters that we can donate them to. Next week, I'll go to Nashville to Matthew 25, a homeless shelter that houses and rehabilitates homeless veterans. I'll bring with me over 100 knitted and crocheted items for the residents there. We have more than 50 hats, as well as more than 50 scarves and a handwritten thank you note will accompany each item. After talking with Alvin at Matthew 25, I was pretty emotional (even though I didn't let him know that). It makes me really sad that these men fought for our country and they've ended up in such terrible circumstances. Some sobering statistics:

In 2006, approximately 195,827 veterans were homeless on a given night—an increase of 0.8 percent from 194,254 in 2005. More veterans experience homelessness over the course of the year. We estimate that 336,627 were homeless in 2006.

We estimate that approximately 89,553 to 467,877 veterans were at risk of homelessness. At risk is defined as being below the poverty level and paying more than 50 percent of household income on rent. It also includes households with a member who has a disability, a person living alone, and those who are not in the labor force.

The VA finds that, overall, 45 percent of participants in the VA's homeless programs have a diagnosable mental illness. We know from previous studies that greater than 30 percent of Iraq veterans coming home have some PTSD. Those studies were done before third deployments and 15 month extensions. And, remember, sometimes PTSD takes years to manifest itself. So bank on the number with PTSD being higher by war's end and in years after.

It's a real shame that these men return home to inadequate psychiatric care and counseling. Just remember that while John McCain likes to claim that he's a friend to the veterans, his record proves otherwise. For example the non-partisan group Disabled American Veterans gives John McCain a 20 percent rating for his voting record on veterans' issues, while Barack Obama has an 80 percent rating. Also, McCain is one of only four members of Congress to have a rating that low or lower. (Republican Representative Chris Cannon of Utah received a rating of 0%, Republican Senator Larry Craig of Idaho received a rating of 20%, and Republican Senator Michael Crapo, also of Idaho, received a rating of 20%). Another example is that the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave McCain a D rating, while Obama received a B+ rating. So, just because John McCain fought with veterans doesn't mean he fights for veterans. There are miles of difference between those two. On the flip side, supporting the troops does not have to mean supporting the war. As a matter of fact, our deployed troops donate to Obama's campaign 6-1 over McCain's. On that note, I hope you guys enjoy the video. Phoebe and Jessica, get somewhere where you can watch it!!! For real!! Till next time, peeps:)