“The United States is a young country” became a salve of words I’d whisper to myself to soften my perspective and to ease chronic disappointment. A young country makes youthful mistakes and learns. Or does it?

The narrow-minded moralism, the bravado, and the extreme incompetence of the last two presidential terms have presented great challenges to my optimism. Previous presidents and administrations have given me plenty of reasons to shake my head and sometimes my fist but they did not cause faith wounds deep in the core of my American spirit.

Why not?

Because I felt America was still good at heart. You could tell that by voices that spoke out and spoke loudly - so loudly at one point that for only the second time in American history, a president was impeached. And it was not considered unpatriotic to speak against him or his actions.

Then came the new incarnations of Bush, Rumsfeld, Rove. And Cheney.

American voices trailed off. I heard them but they seemed to evaporate like drops of water that had too far to trickle down. Yes, out there was clearly the idea that something was wrong. Very, very wrong. But fear replaced action. Reaction replaced strategy. And silence replaced sound.

On November 4, 2008, American voices returned and bellowed in the quiet privacy of the voting booth.

I am humbled by my fellow Americans as they show undeniable courage to embrace change. Not because change is some romantic concept but because Americans are now seeing a true reflection and accepting it. That’s real change. I believe it’s called growing up.