Yes We Can
Remember, remember, the 5th of November...
It was on the earliest beginning of this day, the stroke of midnight (EST) that a man came on a stage in Chicago to address a nation. This man was to become the next President of the United States, and his victory meant more symbolically than perhaps any other event in our lifetime. In a nation with slavery written into its founding law; in a nation that only 150 years ago ended slavery; in a nation that has lynched 3,437 black men since slavery ended; in a nation that only 50 years ago began to desegregate its society; in a nation that only 40 years ago saw the assassination of the greatest voice for peace, justice, and equality that our society has ever known; in a nation that is still constantly afraid of race issues tearing us apart, we came together to elect a black man as our 44th President. More amazing yet, this is in a nation that is still openly racist and prejudiced towards Middle Easterners and Muslims because of misplaced rage at the September 11 attacks. In spite of all this, we the people came together to elect Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. to be the leader of the free world.
Let that sink in.
He accomplished this not by victimizing himself over his opponents' attacks as racism. He hardly even spoke of the giants on whose shoulders he stood throughout this long campaign. He did not win because of being black, nor did he win in spite of it. He won on the strength and resonance of his ideas, his freshness, his decency, and his unwavering optimism.
After eight years faltering towards the brink of collapse, we have rejected neoconservatism and the exploitation of the world and exploitation of the poor for the gain of a very small few. We have rejected politics run on "lesser-of-two-evils" mentality, and we have rejected voter mobilization through fear. We have, in essence, rejected everything that has contributing to dragging the quality of life in our nation down. In return, we embrace a new era. An era that can see greater world harmony and interconnectedness and the spread of peace and justice. We embrace this not because Barack Obama is an immediate solution to the world's problems, not because we agree with him on every issue, not because we dislike John McCain, but because he is that crucial step in the right direction. The Obama candidacy truly represents a new generation of political discourse and a desire for, as cliche as it now is, Change. We embrace Mr. Obama's not-so-bizarre notion of Hope.
This is truly a great day for the world and for the United States of America, but it is only the beginning. We must ensure the survival of this great thing we have helped create. This will not come from blindly supporting President Obama, but rather from always expressing what we believe to be right and trying to change the world positively, even if that may conflict with what President Obama is doing at a given time. I certainly do not agree with Obama on every issue, but I believe he is the right leader at the right time for a troubled world. Even if he makes poor decision or his judgment falters, we know that his heart is in the right place and eventually we will help President Obama get things back on track.
It may sound like political pandering of sorts to those that did not support Obama when he professed in his victory speech that "I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you." This is, however, truth to everyone that took part in the movement. We the people voted for him, worked for him, lost sleep for him because of how important it is. It is important on every level I can comprehend, not because of who Barack Obama is so much as because of what he represents, and for the first time in a long time I feel optimistic about the direction of the United States of America.
I will never forget where I was and what I was doing the day and night of the election, and I am sure most people feel the same way. I will remember knocking on doors to get people to the vote. I will remember nervously eating dinner while watching the first returns. I will remember hearing Pennsylvania called while driving and starting to realize that it was really happening. I will remember the house full of people drinking beer and intently staring at the television. I will remember Ohio being called and knowing that it was over. I will remember the eruption after the West Coast closed and it was official. I will remember hugging everyone in sight and the surreal realization of everything sinking in. I will remember people dancing and crying on every street corner in the world. I will remember the phone call from my mother declaring that this was one of the happiest days of her life. I will remember being choked up by John McCain giving the greatest speech of his campaign that displayed all the great qualities of his character many said were absent throughout his campaign. I will remember being moved to tears as Barack Obama gave his victory speech that hit every nerve. I will remember staying up until 4:30am waiting for every last result I could find. I will remember the outpouring of world support and optimism. I will remember Kenya declaring a national holiday in honor of their descendant. I will remember the friends that shared these moments with me throughout the day, and the millions all over the world that surely felt the same way I did. But I will remember most of all what this means for America: yes we can achieve anything.
-Sam Fruzzetti
It was on the earliest beginning of this day, the stroke of midnight (EST) that a man came on a stage in Chicago to address a nation. This man was to become the next President of the United States, and his victory meant more symbolically than perhaps any other event in our lifetime. In a nation with slavery written into its founding law; in a nation that only 150 years ago ended slavery; in a nation that has lynched 3,437 black men since slavery ended; in a nation that only 50 years ago began to desegregate its society; in a nation that only 40 years ago saw the assassination of the greatest voice for peace, justice, and equality that our society has ever known; in a nation that is still constantly afraid of race issues tearing us apart, we came together to elect a black man as our 44th President. More amazing yet, this is in a nation that is still openly racist and prejudiced towards Middle Easterners and Muslims because of misplaced rage at the September 11 attacks. In spite of all this, we the people came together to elect Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. to be the leader of the free world.
Let that sink in.
He accomplished this not by victimizing himself over his opponents' attacks as racism. He hardly even spoke of the giants on whose shoulders he stood throughout this long campaign. He did not win because of being black, nor did he win in spite of it. He won on the strength and resonance of his ideas, his freshness, his decency, and his unwavering optimism.
After eight years faltering towards the brink of collapse, we have rejected neoconservatism and the exploitation of the world and exploitation of the poor for the gain of a very small few. We have rejected politics run on "lesser-of-two-evils" mentality, and we have rejected voter mobilization through fear. We have, in essence, rejected everything that has contributing to dragging the quality of life in our nation down. In return, we embrace a new era. An era that can see greater world harmony and interconnectedness and the spread of peace and justice. We embrace this not because Barack Obama is an immediate solution to the world's problems, not because we agree with him on every issue, not because we dislike John McCain, but because he is that crucial step in the right direction. The Obama candidacy truly represents a new generation of political discourse and a desire for, as cliche as it now is, Change. We embrace Mr. Obama's not-so-bizarre notion of Hope.
This is truly a great day for the world and for the United States of America, but it is only the beginning. We must ensure the survival of this great thing we have helped create. This will not come from blindly supporting President Obama, but rather from always expressing what we believe to be right and trying to change the world positively, even if that may conflict with what President Obama is doing at a given time. I certainly do not agree with Obama on every issue, but I believe he is the right leader at the right time for a troubled world. Even if he makes poor decision or his judgment falters, we know that his heart is in the right place and eventually we will help President Obama get things back on track.
It may sound like political pandering of sorts to those that did not support Obama when he professed in his victory speech that "I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you." This is, however, truth to everyone that took part in the movement. We the people voted for him, worked for him, lost sleep for him because of how important it is. It is important on every level I can comprehend, not because of who Barack Obama is so much as because of what he represents, and for the first time in a long time I feel optimistic about the direction of the United States of America.
I will never forget where I was and what I was doing the day and night of the election, and I am sure most people feel the same way. I will remember knocking on doors to get people to the vote. I will remember nervously eating dinner while watching the first returns. I will remember hearing Pennsylvania called while driving and starting to realize that it was really happening. I will remember the house full of people drinking beer and intently staring at the television. I will remember Ohio being called and knowing that it was over. I will remember the eruption after the West Coast closed and it was official. I will remember hugging everyone in sight and the surreal realization of everything sinking in. I will remember people dancing and crying on every street corner in the world. I will remember the phone call from my mother declaring that this was one of the happiest days of her life. I will remember being choked up by John McCain giving the greatest speech of his campaign that displayed all the great qualities of his character many said were absent throughout his campaign. I will remember being moved to tears as Barack Obama gave his victory speech that hit every nerve. I will remember staying up until 4:30am waiting for every last result I could find. I will remember the outpouring of world support and optimism. I will remember Kenya declaring a national holiday in honor of their descendant. I will remember the friends that shared these moments with me throughout the day, and the millions all over the world that surely felt the same way I did. But I will remember most of all what this means for America: yes we can achieve anything.
-Sam Fruzzetti