Rejoice all ye faithful for there is hope in this world gone mad. The voters in Massachusetts elected their first Republican senator since 1972.

Perhaps this wake-up call to the Obama White House and ruling Democrats in Congress will at last pivot our country away from the socialistic agenda pursued with such euphoria during the past year of Obama’s presidency. Hopefully, this earthquake of an awakening will prevail in yet other elections in 2010, either halting Obama’s leftist agenda or replacing those public servants who advocate such policies.

This week’s election of Scott Brown, a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard when not serving as a state senator, left me giddy. His victory caps a period that leaves even an old dinosaur like me suddenly hopeful again about America’s future.

Recently I had the extraordinary joy of visiting with Brandon Davis and his dad, Ed Davis. Brandon is a first-year student at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. In fact, he made the dean’s list his very first semester. He graduated at the top of his class at Robinson High in 2009 and received two presidential appointments to military academies. He actually had to choose between West Point and Annapolis.

Only 100 presidential appointments are given annually, and for someone in the Waco area to get this rare distinction is big, really big, as we reported in the Trib.

Brandon’s dad spent 20 years in the military, mostly in the Navy, and he genuinely wanted his son to “Go Navy.” However, he very correctly opted to allow his son to decide for himself.

Happily, Brandon chose the Navy, saying he wanted to fly jets off carriers.

This young man, beaming in his desire to do well in military service, was a sight to behold. In my two-hour chat with him, my heart swelled hearing and seeing this young man standing tall, so spit-shined, so properly mannered, so articulate in conveying his pride as an American.

Dare I say it? We have in Brandon a hero in our midst. He builds a vibrant future for himself by protecting us. In doing so, he makes the rest of us proud to walk in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

When I gaze upon my grandchildren, I feel the same sort of pride in their extraordinary accomplishments — and when I visit with young men like Brandon, my heart sings out in optimism for America.

Rejoice, I say, for there’s hope for a world too often gone mad.

We’re lucky to have so many heroes in our particular stretch of Texas. For instance, I recently read the book Two Wars by Nate Self, who hails from China Spring. Nate got an appointment to West Point. As an Army Ranger captain dispatched to Afghanistan at the start of the war on terrorism, he became engaged in a horrific firefight atop freezing Takur Ghar Mountain for many hours.

The experience proved to be the highest-altitude battle ever fought by U.S. troops — and, I learned, seven of the first 10 men to die in the war fell in this fight. For his valor and leadership, Nate received the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He and his story are the stuff of which legends are made.

But he’s also a man dedicated to his Christian background and family values — intangibles he feels just as strongly about as the men with whom he served back in 2002. From his book we learn of the inner conflicts experienced by men of conscience who, amid the horrors of combat, suddenly face troubling questions about faith and the very meaning of life.

This inner conflict is referred to as post- traumatic stress disorder; in my day, we called it battle fatigue. Happily, Nate has successfully vanquished his demons and become an accomplished public speaker. He’s especially proud to work with young Army officers, helping them do battle with the very devils he has wrestled with.

Our community should be proud to have so many heroes here and afar. Let’s rejoice. Maybe our world has not gone mad. Maybe help is on the way.

Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.

Clifton Robinson is chairman of Robinson Media, which owns the Tribune-Herald.