Question of the Week:


What does the Obama victory mean to you?

Let us know here and we may share your thoughts later.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Carpe Postremo

Here we are, one day away from the biggest election of our lifetime. We are just hours away from finding out how ready for change America is. We have finally arrived at the moment we have all waited for. The chance to claim our future, to pick our destiny is now. And yet, I feel at a loss for words.

It isn’t skepticism. There is little doubt in my mind that Obama will win tomorrow. He may even win by a larger margin than some people are predicting. The thing that may be holding me back is the complete and utter fear of success.

I sit here imagining a better tomorrow, the tomorrow that Obama promises; A country where its citizens are given access to healthcare, where its students can afford to go to college, where energy independence is not only talked about in serious terms, but acted on. This is the future Obama promises, and tomorrow we can achieve it, or at least begin the possibility of success.

Perhaps it is the fact that things have been so bad for such a long time. I still remember images from Katrina, the awful pictures of death and abandonment. Maybe it is the recent stories of people losing their homes, and who could forget Bush’s speech about “America’s addiction to foreign oil.” Perhaps it is the pain of past failures that reminds me just how important tomorrow really is. This is not just another election. This is our chance to stand up and say we can do better. We will do better.

And maybe that is what gives me such a weird feeling. It could be the fact that America so strongly believes in something that will actually lead to us living better lives, lead us to being a better people. Maybe it is my lack of comprehension. I cannot believe that in my lifetime someone I believe in will have the opportunity to make a difference. In the past there were people like John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy who stood for change, and had their opportunity taken away from them prematurely. There were also people before them like Gandhi, and Lincoln who created change and too, paid the price for it.

Or maybe that is what the feeling in my stomach is. The fear that we have the chance to bring change, but there will always be someone out there who likes things just the way they are.

It is the topic least talked about this campaign season. And I cannot blame anyone, but the time has come to mention it. We are about to elect someone who represents everything that the next generation believes in. This man will be called a hero because he is one. He is a champion for the middle class, for the working men and women in this country, and for their children.

Senator Obama represents change plain and simple. Given the chance he can lead our nation into one of the greatest chapters in its history, like John F. Kennedy, he will ask our nation to do great things because he believes in us. Like Robert F. Kennedy, he will stand up for the poor, because the middle class is slipping away into the upper class, and the “upper lower class.” Like Martin Luther King Jr., he will stand up for equal rights for all, not because he is a Democrat, but because he is an American, and as Americans we should want nothing less. And because he represents all this, I am terrified his chance too, will be taken from him.

I sit here writing, wanting to delete. I want to take this all back, and say we should not speak of things such as these. We cannot “put it out there,” if you will, but to remain silent would mean to pretend that it is not on the minds of millions of Americans everywhere. And that I am afraid, is untrue.

So, tomorrow I will get up in the morning. I will put on my Obama t-shirt, and I will go vote. I will then go home, watch the election coverage, and celebrate his victory. I will be proud of my country, of my generation for electing someone who represents nothing of the past, and everything of the future. Because that is really what tomorrow is about. This is what tomorrow brings. The opportunity for our nation to choose a leader we can seize the future with, “Carpe Postremo.” Tomorrow, I will watch Senator Obama take his place in history, and I will be happy to be alive during a time where so much can be done.

Then, when all the election coverage is over, I will sit here hoping, praying that he gets the opportunity to be the leader we so desperately need, so desperately want.

Remember to vote!
LoOK

3 comments:

DRock said...

Obama is getting my vote but I have no idea what kind of President he will be. I'm voting for him because I like his policies and "think" he will be a good leader. Only time will tell. Hopefully he doesn't disappoint.

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to vote tomorrow as well. Hopefully we, the people will succeed in ushering in the dawn of a new era. Not just for the US, but for the whole world.

Word of advice...either don't wear your Obama shirt, or make sure it is covered up. Depending on state laws and/or fussiness of the polling station, you could be sent back for "passive electioneering."

Enjoy tomorrow night as the world screams in ecstasy when Obama wins, and sighs in relief when we know there's just two more months till competence and intellect are restored to the White House.

Anonymous said...

Hey, just a heads up. I don't think you can wear an Obama t-shirt to the polls.