I’m currently visiting family in Chicago, and just attended a beautiful Catholic Mass that integrated the seven principles of Kwanzaa. The service had all the traditional rituals of the Mass I celebrate at home in Pleasanton, so I could fully participate in a very comfortable and familiar way. And yet, the service integrated new concepts that I had never seen before, celebrating Kwanzaa by weaving it into the age-old traditional Mass. It was beautiful and inspiring. It had the comfort of home, and the wonder of something new. I felt the warmth of familiarity, and the sense of belonging to an organization of millions of people I may never meet who are my spiritual family, woven together by tradition, shared faith, and common rituals. No matter where I travel, a Catholic Mass will be celebrated nearly the same as my church in Pleasanton, yet will have its own regional flare.
I hope I feel as warm and hopeful leaving the February CRP convention, as I did leaving Mass in Chicago today.
I have seen a lot of email traffic between members of the Drafting and Platform committees regarding the new Party Platform that will be adopted in San Francisco in February. Most of what I see is steeped in the spirit of cooperation and good will. My hope is that Republicans across the State of California will adopt a Platform that will help us celebrate all the traditional principles that define us, regardless of whether we live in Orange County or Alameda County, yet will allow each region to integrate its own special flare into the tradition of the GOP. If we succeed in doing so, we will create a document that unites us and excites us statewide! Let’s work together to ensure 2008 is a year in which Republicans from Eureka to San Diego feel like family.