Big Day

When I wake up in the morning, the first thought that usually comes in my head is "What time is it? What time do I actually need to get up? How much more time does that give me to sleep?" On November 5th, the day after the election, I didn't wake up thinking that. My first thought was "Obama won. I can have faith in this country again. This is surreal. It's a new day." It's so weird to think that tomorrow will be the start of a new era.

In July of 2004, I remember sitting in my bedroom at home watching the Democratic National Convention that was taking place at the Hynes Convention Center, practically down the street from where I going to live when I moved to Boston in a few months. I remember seeing this man, who apparently everyone at the convention knew, because there was a sea of signs waving in the air saying "Obama." "Who IS this guy?," I thought to myself. Eyes and ears glued to the TV and 26 minutes later, that was it. I knew this Senator from Illinois was going to be something. Someone. I think I even put something about him running in 2008 in my AIM away message about it. Re-reading his speech, his message and values are still the same.

The true genius of America, a faith... a faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles; that we can tuck in our children at night and know that they are fed and clothed and safe from harm; that we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door; that we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe; that we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution; and that our votes will be counted -- or at least, most of the time.

It is that fundamental belief -- it is that fundamental belief -- I am my brother's keeper, I am my sisters' keeper -- that makes this country work.

It's what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single American family: "E pluribus unum," out of many, one.

There's not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America.

Do we participate in a politics of cynicism, or do we participate in a politics of hope?...I'm not talking about blind optimism here, the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just don't think about it, or health care crisis will solve itself if we just ignore it.

That's not what I'm talking. I'm talking about something more substantial. It's the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworker's son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too.

Hope in the face of difficulty, hope in the face of uncertainty, the audacity of hope: In the end, that is God's greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation, a belief in things not seen, a belief that there are better days ahead.

I believe that we can give our middle class relief and provide working families with a road to opportunity.

I believe we can provide jobs for the jobless, homes to the homeless, and reclaim young people in cities across America from violence and despair.

I believe that we have a righteous wind at our backs, and that as we stand on the crossroads of history, we can make the right choices and meet the challenges that face us.

America, tonight, if you feel the same energy that I do, if you feel the same urgency that I do, if you feel the same passion that I do, if you feel the same hopefulness that I do, if we do what we must do, then I have no doubt that all across the country, from Florida to Oregon, from Washington to Maine, the people will rise up in November, and John Kerry will be sworn in as president. And John Edwards will be sworn in as vice president. And this country will reclaim it's promise. And out of this long political darkness a brighter day will come.

Obviously, things didn't go in the Kerry/Edwards favor, but in some ways, I think it was a good thing. I'm not sure if John Kerry would have made the ideal President that we needed at that time, but who knows. I'm not saying that President Bush should have won in 2004, but I am saying that things happen for a reason. Plus John Edwards got out fairly easily with the whole affair thing, and 4 more years just showed how inept Bush is/was as a President.

Putting it into perspective, President Bush has been in office since I was a Freshman in high school. I practically grew up and formed my own personal values and beliefs based on him being our President. And as our President, he was less than perfect to say the least. As far as I can say for my generation, President Obama is someone that does stand for change, because he is everything that these past 8 years of fail is not. He is someone that stands for hope, the hope that America can rebuild from the mess left behind from its predecessor, the hope that we don't have to worry if we will lose our jobs (or even find a job at all), the hope that we can return to the America it used to be, United, as one.

Tomorrow, we get a fresh start. Good morning, America. Nice to meet you.

It's a new day.


A policeman walks past Shepard Fairey's portrait of US President-elect Barack Obama after it was installed at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington on January 17, 2009. By Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty.