Victory has come and it feels so good. I helped make history but I did not do it alone. Thanks to 66,882,230 million people who counted for 53% of the popular vote and 365 electoral votes, Barack Obama will be the 44th president of the United States of America on January 20th 2009.
I could not fathom casting an absentee ballot so I went home to Philadelphia to vote. Pennsylvania and Florida were both significant swing states but what felt like the right thing for me to do was to go home. Although I went home to vote there were definitely perks of being in Florida also. On two separate occasions within weeks of the election, I was given the chance to see Obama. The first chance was when he was downtown by the America Airlines arena. By the time I got in the area I was literally about 5,000 people too late. I was crushed but was immediately uplifted by the spirit of those around me who gave me the feeling that it would be impossible, that he would not win. I know John McCain has his supporters but I have never heard of thousands of people being left outside of a McCain rally. So although I could not see Obama, I had hope. About one week and a half later, Obama revisited South Florida at the Bank of America center in Sunrise, Fla. This time I was prepared as I arrived about 7 hours before his speech. There was at least 3 hours worth of lines ahead of me of people who were there before me. I had faith that I would make it into the center and I did. While standing in line for hours, I witnessed an America that I did not know I lived in. The sense of unity was so strong that I believe if someone would of dropped a hundred dollar bill, everyone would have ran to give it back to them. It was that deep. I was surrounded by toddlers and elders, rich and poor and yet we all had one thing in common, change. It took me 7 hours to secure a seat inside the center on the front row of the nose bleed section and it was worth every minute.
To both my delight and surprise, Obama recorded a live infomercial from the center that was televised across America and I was apart of it. As excited as I was to see him, I must admit when he came out I did not faint. I expected to have this rock star moment and scream hysterically and maybe even cry. I did nothing but stare at him in awe. The moment that made me tremble did not come until after 11:30 pm on November 4th when it was announced that he was the winner. I was at an election party in Philly, surrounded by my peers and political representatives both young and old. When it was announced that he won I was standing up, I immediately fell, thankfully into the chair behind me. My mouth dropped, I was speechless and I couldn’t even hear the screams around me. I just stared at the screen showing Grant park in Chicago where Obama would be giving his acceptance speech. I didn’t notice the tears rolling down my face until I saw Jesse Jackson on the screen crying and realized we were doing the same thing. Honestly, the only thing that could top how I felt at that moment will be the birth of my first child or my wedding day. I still can not put into accurate depiction how I felt. Senator Vincent Hughes from Pennsylvania suggested that we all hold hands and pray. Somehow I ended up holding the hands of an elderly woman and of a middle aged man. As Senator Hughes said a prayer for every “cotton picking slave”, I could not take it. I cried like a baby and I squeezed the hands of my peers. After the prayer, I called my grandparents and great grandparents and asked them could they believe it. They could not. Change indeed has come.
The next day in the airport on the way back to Miami, I wore my Obama shirt. I expected to get a reaction but not the type of reaction I received. Most people just looked at me with no emotion. One guy even yelled at me “Obamanation” which is derogatory for abomination. All the support and love that I had experienced the night before made me forget that 47% of the country was sad, to put in light terms. One thing I did remember was a line from Obama’s acceptance speech and that is “He will be your president too”! Change has come and there is no need to think about the should of, could of or would of’s. In order to move forward we must come together as one country and unite. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream but today we have reality.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Voting on the issues, not race or gender
In only my second presidential election, I am honored to participate in an election that will make history. On January 20th, 2009, either the first black president or the first female vice president will be in office. As a black female, I may have the toughest decision among voters. Do I pick Barack Obama because he is black or do I pick John McCain because he has a woman, Sarah Palin as his running mate? As a politically and culturally educated individual I know better than to base my vote on those factors alone. I can not act as if I will not reap some sort of validation from having either presidential candidate in office. How many women besides me will walk into job interviews with a sense of confidence courtesy of Sarah Palin if she wins? How many Blacks in America besides me will envision Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., finally resting in peace? These are not the thoughts I should have in my head on November the 4th, right? I should be thinking about who is going to help me gain affordable health care or who is going to help continue or end the war in Iraq. I should be contemplating whose track record adds up with their convention speeches. And that is exactly what I am going to do.
Looking back on the 2004 election when I was a first time voter, there was no question as to who to vote for. Like millions of Americans, I was tired of George W. Bush and his administration. I voted for Senator John Kerry who seemed to be the savior for America at that time. How that man did not win I may never know.
When Hurricane Katrina passed, images of helpless victims who our government failed were stuck in my mind. I wondered about the man who ran to the aid of people millions of miles away in Iraq but could not offer adequate assistance to his own citizens.
It’s interesting to have seen these last couple of elections come so close, yet today, Bush’s popularity ratings show he should have lost by a landslide. But that’s another issue in itself. This election I can not wait to press that button that says ‘Barack Obama, ‘and I am not going to do it because he is black but because he is the candidate that shares my values.
As a woman I could never fathom voting for a woman who is anti-abortion even in the case of rape or incest. I have never been pregnant, and I can not honestly say what I would do if it happened, however, the right to an abortion is a right I cherish. I’ll cast my vote on behalf of the unfortunate woman, who will have to make the decision between saving her life or giving birth to her baby.
I have made my decision based on the utilitarian aspect that has been forgotten in society. We have to consider what is best for the majority and not just for ourselves. As an African-American who is proud of the civil rights leaders of the past and present, I can not vote for a man like John McCain who voted against making the Martin Luther King Jr. day a legally recognized holiday.
In a society where one can often feel like just a number, we have to take advantage of the one opportunity we have to make a difference. It is up to us to choose our leaders. We have to fight for our rights. On Aug. 26, 1920 women were granted the right to vote. On Aug. 6, 1965 blacks were granted the right to vote. On November 4, 2008, I will exercise my right to vote. Support your cause.
Looking back on the 2004 election when I was a first time voter, there was no question as to who to vote for. Like millions of Americans, I was tired of George W. Bush and his administration. I voted for Senator John Kerry who seemed to be the savior for America at that time. How that man did not win I may never know.
When Hurricane Katrina passed, images of helpless victims who our government failed were stuck in my mind. I wondered about the man who ran to the aid of people millions of miles away in Iraq but could not offer adequate assistance to his own citizens.
It’s interesting to have seen these last couple of elections come so close, yet today, Bush’s popularity ratings show he should have lost by a landslide. But that’s another issue in itself. This election I can not wait to press that button that says ‘Barack Obama, ‘and I am not going to do it because he is black but because he is the candidate that shares my values.
As a woman I could never fathom voting for a woman who is anti-abortion even in the case of rape or incest. I have never been pregnant, and I can not honestly say what I would do if it happened, however, the right to an abortion is a right I cherish. I’ll cast my vote on behalf of the unfortunate woman, who will have to make the decision between saving her life or giving birth to her baby.
I have made my decision based on the utilitarian aspect that has been forgotten in society. We have to consider what is best for the majority and not just for ourselves. As an African-American who is proud of the civil rights leaders of the past and present, I can not vote for a man like John McCain who voted against making the Martin Luther King Jr. day a legally recognized holiday.
In a society where one can often feel like just a number, we have to take advantage of the one opportunity we have to make a difference. It is up to us to choose our leaders. We have to fight for our rights. On Aug. 26, 1920 women were granted the right to vote. On Aug. 6, 1965 blacks were granted the right to vote. On November 4, 2008, I will exercise my right to vote. Support your cause.
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