One of the reasons people become jaded is that they keep voicing the same opinion about the same subject, no matter what the topic of discussion is. This isn't about Barack Obama the presidential candidate. This is about Michelle Obama, the speaker. Try to think outside of that pea-sized cast iron box and give us an opinion on the speech.

I don't know that the speech is in the same league as "I Have a Dream", but it's one of the best I've heard in years. Other than the fact that I agree with John Hardly about the war in Afghanistan being one of retribution, I do believe the current administration has gone to some lengths to create and maintain a sense of fear.

Those idiotic terror alerts do nothing but remind average people, powerless to fight terrorists, that they NEED Homeland Security and government guns to protect them. That they NEED the Constitution gutted so authorities can do whatever the hell they want, and collateral damage to innocent parties or falsely accused 'enemies of the state' be damned.

Plastic bags and duct tape, the possibility of 'dirty' bombs, news about terrorist plots foiled... One face tells us, "Don't panic" while the second does its level best to scare the bejeezus out of us so we remember how much we need protection. Anybody who's had any training whatsoever with terrorism knows you don't do the terrorists' job for them. You stop the spread of panic. You tell them how to protect themselves every day, and NOT sound the alarm, then let folks calm down before sounding the alarm again, over and over.

The bigger picture is about more than fear. It's about negatives being the primary driving force in our lives. Attack ads and candidates dissing other candidates, people in forums and blogs who find it easier to talk about who and what they don't like versus who they support. Why? Maybe folks are jaded. Maybe disdain and contempt have become more preferable to share in public than fervor and zeal because the latter expose a person to ridicule.

And now we're back to fear. Fear of ridicule. Maybe people are too afraid to talk about what they care about because someone's going to jump on the opportunity to trash something special to them. You know, I just don't worry about ridicule. It's not my problem. Those who are fond of doing it to others aren't people I respect, so what they say doesn't matter. It's the easy way - they don't share their own opinions and just talk about other people's. Argue, yes; compare ideas you don't like to ones you do, but do nothing but ridicule and you immediately wind up in the category of too-clueless-to-waste-time-on' because it really doesn't take much of a brain to focus on other people's opinions.

I want to focus on the positives, on hope and possibility, not fear and disdain. I want a candidate and a platform to vote FOR, not a bunch of them to vote against. I want a sense of honest passion in a candidate. Yeah, I liked Michelle Obama's speech, and she sounded like someone inspired and inspirational, fearless and on fire, who meant every word. What she said and the way she said it wasn't what I'm used to hearing from politicians, but it was the sort of fire I'd like to hear.