Hope may have four letters, but it is not a "four-letter word" as some would like you to think. Hope is sometimes the only thing people have left. I wrote the following comment about hope in another diary.

I get so sick of people disparaging hope. Hope is a very powerful thing that can help many people endure a seemingly unendurable situation.

I spent a full year living on little more than hope, and lots of hospital food, while my fiancee fought for her life. We lost in the end, but I will never forget how hope sustained us for months on end. That hope died with her and ever since, life has seemed dull and flat and meaningless. Anyone who has gone through something like this knows the true measure of hope.

Sometimes hope is the only thing that keeps you going. Hope that tomorrow will be a better day. Hope that someone, somewhere will find a way to fix things. Hope that you will be able to sleep at night instead of lying awake with your face in a pool of tears. Hope is the grandest four letter word in the English language.

What hope means to me in the sense that Obama uses the word is the hope that people have in the American Dream. The hope that they or their children can have a better life. The hope that all of the hatred and divisiveness on display over the last decade can be overcome. The hope that we can all learn to live together without rancor. The hope that our country can return to a time when it was the moral leader of the world, instead of a country that employs the very same tactics and tools that were once used only by our enemies - torture, indefinite imprisonment, wars of aggression, spying on our own people, and the list goes on.

As I said above, hope is a grand word. Life without hope is dull and meaningless.

Hope and dreams go hand in hand. There is a poem by my favorite poet that talks about dreams. Replace the word 'dreams' with 'hope' as you read it.

Dreams

Hold fast to dreams
for if dreams die
life is a broken-winged bird
that cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
for when dreams go
life is a barren field
frozen with snow.

Langston Hughes
1902-1967

Hope is an essential nutrient for the human spirit. Without hope the spirit itself shrivels and dies.

Change is something else entirely. (Yes, that was supposed to be punny.)

The change Obama talks about is so broad-ranging that it is difficult to cover it all in one diary. It can be summarized as a change away from the disastrous policies of the Bush administration to a more fair and balanced country. A move away from blind support of the wealthy and corporations towards policies that benefit all Americans.

Here are a few of words from Obama about change.

That is the choice we face right now - a choice between more of the same policies that have widened inequality, added to our debt, and shaken the foundation of our economy, or change that will restore balance to our economy; that will invest in the ingenuity and innovation of our people; that will fuel a bottom-up prosperity to keep America strong and competitive in the 21st century.

It is not left or right - liberal or conservative - to say that we have tried it their way for eight long years. And it has failed. It is time to try something new. It is time for change.

The challenges we face are great, and we may not meet them in one term or with one President. But history tells us we have met greater challenges before. And the seriousness of this moment tells us we can't afford not to try.

So as we set out on this journey, let us also forge a new path - a path that leads to unrivaled prosperity; to boundless opportunity; to the America we believe in and a dream that will always endure. Thank you, and may God Bless America.

Another form of change Obama says he will bring is a move towards cooperation and consensus building instead of governing by fiat. He may well be rebuffed in this effort by the Republicans, but I truly believe he intends to try.

He has also said he will work to reduce the influence of lobbyists on Washington. He has already taken concrete steps towards this goal. This is change you can believe in.

Anyone who can't see what changes Obama will bring to Washington is blind. Any move away from Bush's policies will be a welcome change. One thing we can count on. Any changes McCain would bring to Washington will be minimal.

Just as life without hope is dull and meaningless, life without change is stagnant. The picture that comes to mind when I think about a life without hope is a view of a dead tree standing in the middle of a lifeless swamp.

Despite what many people believe, hope and change are more than empty slogans.

Hope is thick, calcium-laden milk for the bones of happiness. Change is what more than 80% of this country is crying for in poll after poll.

Hope has arrived and following closely behind is change. Are you ready for either one?