A change is gonna come
It may be a very worn cliche, but America has spoken. It’s been a terribly exciting night.
I’m proud to have voted for Senator, and now President-Elect Obama. I spent the whole day feeling very anxious, but as the evening wore on, I became more and more encouraged by the news… and when CNN moved Sen. Obama’s electoral total to 297, I was ecstatic, and for a while was shouting out to folks online, sending texts, and fixating on the electoral votes creeping higher.
But, you know, when Sen. McCain spoke, conceding the election, I started to think, maybe it’s time now to come together. Maybe it’s idealism, but I am, in my best moments, I would say, an idealist. On any given problem, I would like to move forward by finding common ground rather than getting my way through superior force. (Perhaps a statement to be made about foreign policy?)
As President-Elect Obama spoke at Grant Park in Chicago, that message was again driven home – we are in many ways a divided nation, but we are never better than when we are united. I’ve read opinions that the younger generations in America, who have grown up with general cynicism about government and did not go through the crushing loss of JFK, and all of the hope and vigah that he inspired, were ready to hope. I think that perhaps we need to hope, and to believe. Well, Barack Obama is someone who can make you believe, but more than that, he seems to actually inspire. Listening to him speak, my instinct is: “Yes, there are things that have to be fixed, wrongs to be righted. How can I help, what should I do?”
He said tonight that he needs our help. He reminded us that he will be President of the whole country, not just those who voted for him. He reminded us that the job of change is not done – in fact, it’s just beginning. It’s time to roll up our sleeves and get to work.
To quote Sam Cooke, “a change is gonna come.”
Yes, we can.
