Election again will offer hope

This year, I will turn a half-century-plus-one years old. This will be my ninth opportunity to vote in a presidential election. It has been a privilege that I never take lightly. This is the most important election year of my lifetime. Without apprehension I can see an uplifting new vitality in the country.
Barack Obama has the intelligence, common sense and capability to make us proud again. We have lost so much respect in other parts of the world because of our saber-rattling foreign policy, our chest-puffing, know-it-all disregard of the rest of the world's cultures, values and religions, and our age-old prejudices against gender and race, which most other less affluent societies have long since abolished. I have been blessed to live long enough that I remember the inspiration of Martin Luther King Jr. and the excitement of Bobby Kennedy's announcement of his candidacy in 1968. Finally, after 40 years, I have that feeling of hope and optimism once again.
However, I am not writing this letter to simply express my emotions. This letter is plea to the young voters and the older voters out there. As for the younger generation, you have brought us a man who is special. I may not see another leader of his charisma and stature in my lifetime. After all, I'm 51 and I've only seen it a couple of times. My plea is to take this opportunity and embrace it. When Election Day is upon us, whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, vote.
Many of us who are older than 50 begin to allow our wisdom to become so saturated that it becomes overconfidence and arrogance. My plea to you is to apply the brakes firmly when that happens. Stop and think about how the world is changing. Seriously consider the possibility that maybe the young are also blessed with good judgment, and they can comprehend the problems we face and make great decisions also, just as King and Kennedy did when they and we were young.