Ok, I'm late. I didn't get this out before the election, but truly, I was holding my breath, not knowing how the election would go (already having decided to be ok with and support whichever candidate was elected) and one of my mainstays for political argument from the Republican side brutally rebuffed my attempt at a discussion to get me riled up enough to post.
Now it seems I have a couple somethings to say.
First, if you've read any of my other content, you won't be surprised to hear me say "yay President Obama!" And a side-bar-YAY: my vocal trio, ~WATER~ got the unbelievable chance to sing a song ("One Voice") at Obama's KC campaign's watch party at the Midland Theater in downtown KC amid hundreds of Obama volunteers & supporters. The energy - hope, I believe it's called - was palpable. After an hour and a half of being "on call," ready to sing at any moment, we went on around 9:45p. As we left the stage and rejoined the audience, we walked out into a crowd of people counting down New-Years-Eve Style, "5... 4... 3... 2... 1!" and as the polls on the West Coast closed, the color-coded map of the US lit up blue and the crowd literally erupted into deafening applause. "We did it!" & "Finally!" echoed in the huge - and beautiful - theater. My mom's eyes filled with tears as she said, "I can't believe we really did it. We're finally ready." And we are. It was a night that will live in the Top 10 Coolest Things I've Done category for a while to come.
But what do we think we're ready for? Ya know those people that seem to have gotten the message but chopped up in little pieces and sometimes end up a bit backwards in the reconstruction? Immediately following the announcement of Barack's assumed victory, a speaker from within the local campaign/government came to the podium at the middle of the stage and with the passion of one who had long since believed in his candidate's manifest destiny, preached to crowd. "We have won! We have succeeded! Because
we were right! And THEY WERE WRONG!" This gentleman screamed this into the microphone repeatedly, "We will have healthcare for all, because WE WERE RIGHT and THEY WERE WRONG!" (please note, this man being caucasian probably did not mean, "we the black people" -- I just reread that and wanted to be clear on the distinction)
Whoa - *sound of a record scratching* - this is where I get off. What did we just fight 9 long months for? Obama's entire campaign and acceptance speech centered around reuniting the people of America. That there
is no wrong, only differing points of view. That we will all work together to bring America back to its desired place as exemplary democracy - a government created by its people - and redefine patriotism as those who support each other and their country and not just one candidate or the other. John McCain isn't WRONG. Sarah Palin, though terrifying politically to me (I won't go there in this post), isn't WRONG. These two people represent an entirely different thought and movement within the American public. They're not wrong. Nor does Barack Obama want us chanting that they are. As I looked around the room, I could still hear cheers, but no one near me was clapping. A few were shaking their heads. And I'm thankful for that. I hope that the people in that room understood that this man, though appropriately excited, was speaking from a mantra that Barack and his team hope to eliminate in the next 4 (8?) years: "us versus them."
Two days later, I met with my trio for a vocal rehearsal and arrived to see Judy and Linda (the other two ladies in the trio) and Linda's husband, Stan, discussing politics and the incredibly cool night we'd had on Tuesday. They, too, had a problem with someone standing up at a rally of people ready to move on to the future and work together, stop blaming left and right, support differing ideals and shouting "THEY ARE WRONG."
However, my bothersome point #2 this past week - which doesn't marr my overall exciting week - I also found them discussing the "better than them" political points and - I was disappointed to hear - Sarah Palin's "FashionGate 2008." If you haven't heard someone say it yet,some people have gotten quite riled up about Palin's spending on clothing and her designer label choices. As if
that is the reason she can't be trusted as the 2nd in command in our country.
Now, I don't have many vast disagreeances with John McCain (we would have to talk about a few issues, but mostly he's an ok guy, politically speaking), but Sarah Palin scared the crap outta me (book banning???). Let me be clear when I say that it was
not because of her expensive taste in clothing. I don't give a damn if she spent her cousin's entire salary on clothes (yes, I know it was her aides'). I truly don't. It was her
politics and not her tailored suits that repelled me.
In a similar vein, though I am truly proud of the American public for being ready to elect a non caucasian to the White House (I don't belittle the great accomplishment in this), I didn't support Obama because of his skin color. I support Barack Obama because he is a candidate that I can stand behind - stand
with - and he has a view of our future that I want to help him build. It's not that I agree with him on all points, but we're on the same track at the train station and I believe in his ability to make positive change in the U.S. It doesn't hurt that he's got a background in Congressional Law, meaning hopefully he'll follow some of them instead of skirt them. (joke, insert laugh track)
I'm happy to have President-Elect Barack Obama on his way in. I'm ecstatic that I got I sing for a group of people powerfully hopeful, even in the face of one (the speech maker) who maybe just didn't get the full memo. I'm proud to have been in a room with Emanuel Cleaver on Election Night, where he wiped the ick of "WRONG" off my mind with a poignant and electrifying speech, justifying all the work that has been done and calling, as Barack does, for all the work that still waits to be done... not just by politicians. Invoking the spirit of "Ask not what your country can do for you..." from another famous Democrat, he stood before a room of people saying
Never again will we say "YES, we can." We can now say "YES, we have." But do not lose that hope that lights up your eyes now. We have come so far and still have so much work to do. How will you help change the face of this country for your children? And we will, dammit. Or at least, I will.
