These thoughts are a bit jumbled together, but they are all I can muster right now. More structured posts will come later.
As I sit here watching President Barack Obama’s acceptance speech for the second time, I can say that I have never been more proud to be a young person, to be a Chicago citizen, but most importantly, to be an American Citizen. Few events have been more symbolic of what America stands for and what America can be to it’s citizens than the events of tonight.
Congratulations America, you have grown a lot.
I have not lived long, but cannot help but think that today is the first day of the next era of my life. Barack Obama being elected president will not have a dramatic change on what kind of job I get, how much money I make, or how I can support my family. It will, however, change the lives of millions of people around me. As CNN analyst Roland Martin, who is African-American, said, blacks across the country can say to their children “yes, you can be President”, and actually mean it.
I will write many posts on this subject, many of which will contain clichés and tired old patriotism. But I will mean every word of it. Today was a big loss to the people who hate our freedom and our will to live. It was a victory for all who love this great country, whether they realize or not.
Note: I do not affiliate myself with either major party or consider myself “left” or “right”, “liberal” or “conservative”, whatever those labels mean these days. I think that both major parties are a bit of an embarrasment, personally. But that’s beside the point. When faced with an issue, I try to look at from my own personal perspective, but also the perspective of millions of other people. I feel that all too often people take a selfish approach on issues. And ultimately, I end up falling somewhere in the middle on just about everything. To me, no one issue is particularly more important than the rest. I say this not to be neutral but to let you know that I have no particularly strong leanings either way.
A lot of people say that the President of The United States of America does not really have the power that the position is perceived to have. This may be true, however, the person holding this position has power that cannot be measured by any tangible means: they have the power to inspire and comfort millions of people in this country and billions abroad. The world is at a crossroads in many ways. Justifiable or not, much of the world doesn’t quite look at us the same way that they may have in the past. In my opinion, we are in need of a president that can inspire and reassure not only American citizens, but the people all over the world.
John McCain is an American hero in many ways. From his tremendous sacrifice during the Vietnam War to his dedicated service in politics since then, he has earned my respect as a man and as someone who cares about the country and the people. In different times, I believe he would make a good president. But now are not those times.
Now, for these times, I feel that Barack Obama is the best man to be the face of this country. A lot of McCain supporters say that Barack Obama is all talk, that his rhetoric is just fluff with no substance. In truth, Obama is an inexperienced politician. He has only had three solid years in Washington. I feel, however, that his ability to lead far outweighs his lack of experience. When I see my peers volunteering and busting their butts for him, or the way he has ran a solid, relatively clean campaign, I am amazed. This man has inspired thousands of young people, the very same people that are thought to not care about anything but Facebook and Xbox, to get up and do something, to feel strongly about something that doesn’t affect their day to day lives. To me, that is a leader.
Regardless of who wins, tomorrow will be a historic day. Vote Obama, vote McCain, vote whoever. But please vote.
2 weeks from today (or really 13 days), we will know who the next President will be. Regardless of how you feel about President Bush and the current administration, you have to admit this will be an exciting and important time for the country. I can’t help but think about how I will tell my children and grandchildren about this election. There is a good chance this country will have it’s first black President in Barack Obama. A small part of me wants to vote or him for that reason alone. The fact that 40 years ago this would not have been possible is astounding to me. We’ve come along way in that time.
It seems like yesterday that I watched Barack Obama give his acceptance speech for the US Senate in November of 2004. I remember my Dad saying “this guy’s got it”. Admittedly, I hadn’t heard of Barack Obama before that election, but he seemed to have the national news pundits excited. Being in Chicago, his winning got more attention than other parts of the country, but it still seemed more than normal. This surprised me, given that he was just now a junior senator. Apparantly, they knew he would be on the fast track to bigger things. I had the priveledge of seeing Obama speak at my high school in the spring of 2006. He seemed to handle himself very well. Two and a half years later, he is days away from being elected President.
These next 2 weeks, and election day in particular, should be wild and historic. Four years from now, we will be asking ourselves, “Are we better off now than we were four years ago?”. As any time period passes, I hope we can always say “yes” to that question. We’ll see.
I am a little bit bored today, and rather than not post anything, I’m going to start a new feature: The Ramblings.
I love going out to bars here at Illinois, but it is freaking expensive (Like, “I’m going broke” expensive).
Last night, I finished a paper for my Intro to Film class and immediately thought “this is the worst paper I’ve ever written”. But then I realized I say this after every single paper I write. This is not a good trend.
I have finally made my decision on who I’m going to vote for in the election (atleast I think so): Barack Obama. I will not be particularly upset if McCain gets elected, but I am not comfortable with Sarah Palin potentially running the country. I think I’m going to post a complete rationale at some point, but not today. If you have an opinion you would like to share, leave it in the comments please! Regardless of who you support, please vote!
Album recommendations: Only By The Night by Kings of Leon and Born In The U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen (I know this is old, but I just listened to it and it’s really good).
That’s all I’ve got right now…..have a good weekend.
