NEW AMERICAN ORDER
We all experienced one of the most pivotal historical events that our generation will see in our lifetimes. Not as emotionally charged as that day in September some seven years ago, but equally relative in how it has affected us as a whole as Americans. A black man will soon be inaugurated to the most powerful position in the world. A coworker said to me, "two hundred years ago, we shipped these people to this country as slaves, sitting in their own fecal matter and now we've elected one of them to the highest office."
On this election day, the nation came together to make their voice heard in numbers beyond what we have seen in Novembers past, and each and everyone of us should be proud that we made the time to come out and do our civic duty. We voted. We decided to make a difference in times that have challenged all of us. That have killed far too many of us. And, that have made the poor poorer, but more able to live even further below their means to make the necessary necessities available for their families. I am one of those poor, and I have persevered, as many of you have.
Barack Obama has been elected president. That is fact. The people have spoken and their choice is what he has preached in his campaign: "CHANGE."
However, the important thing to remember is that it is but a slogan and not a term of immediacy. For one thing, George W. Bush, our ELECTED president of the last eight years, is still our leader for another two months. Obama takes the reigns in late January, and those looking for change had better not get excited for instant results. The economy is in hell. We are fighting a war on two fronts. The world is not as much a fan of the United States as we have shown. Friends and families have been laid off as executives have been given substantial bonuses, vacations, and whatnot, and continue to cut corners at the expense of the working class. Change is a far cry from now.
An election was won, but we are all still in a dire situation. Today, my work expressed the grim reality of the corporation for which I work. Layoffs, called rifts, have been avoided by their local budget plan, but are subject to change by the morning, next week, next month. Others in the work force are struggling even more. Many are on the streets. Many are doing what they must to make ends meet.
The voters want CHANGE. They want results. The sad realty is that these things will take time and even when their "savior" takes the reigns of the nation, these things will still be bad, unresolved, and in many cases far, far worse.
Obama will be tested: by our own and by the world around us. He cannot make things better instantly by the stroke of a pen or by an inspirational speech. Next year this time, things will likely be just as bad, and many will come out and say SEE...he didn't make a difference.
I had the rare opportunity this election to be directly involved in this process, one, as a member of the media able to see not only all the national candidates, but the state and regional and local as well, and two, because Virginia was a battleground and those vying for the votes spent quite a bit of time here. The rhetoric is just what is was...rhetoric. But, we as a nation, came together and made our stand, and in a democratic society, we made our choice. The beauty of a republic.
Obama is our new leader and deserves all the respect due that comes with winning that office. But, realize things will not change overnight. Things will not get better instantly. Our brothers, sisters, mothers, daughters are not coming home from the deserts in January. And, the world does not respect us any more yet than they did in the "W" administration...but hopefully, one day, they will.
The battle was won on Election Day as Americans spoke their voice and said no more, but we are far from winning the War.
The president-elect encouraged Americans to take responsibility to make "CHANGE." He cannot do it alone. He is but one man with an elected office. It's up to all of us to make a difference...
It always has been.
Random Thoughts in the Age of Obama
by Jason Walsh
