They said it could never happen. Obama was too young, too inexperienced, too radical, too liberal, too Muslim, too black, too white, too foreign, and too dangerous. Now we stand on the cusp of victory. I only wish that I had done more to be involved in it.
I have stood for what I believed in. I got into a shouting match with my own father when I told him that I thought Barack Obama would be the next president. I argued with people my own age that called me a socialist, a communist and a race-traitor for my support of Obama. I lost a devout Mormon friend of twenty years when I told him to his face that supporting California’s Proposition 8 was supporting ignorance and bigotry. I was imspired, like so many, when I heard Obama speak, and I knew that, were he to become president, he could direct the positive energy of this nation into the rebuilding and reconciliation that we so desperately need.
Yet when the chips were down, I couldn’t be bothered to give one cent to Obama. I couldn’t be bothered to donate one minute of my time to his or any campaign. I’ve read diaries of people who have given everything they could afford (and in some cases more than they could afford), and I say these things to my shame. Of course, I voted, but that seems so small in comparison. I wish I had done more, and I apologize for my lack of effort.
You all, however, have nothing to be ashamed about. No matter what happens tonight, you are all to be applauded. You are the heroes. You are the real Americans. You are the patriots. You are the ones who put country first. You faced hatred, social retribution, and in some cases physical violence or job termination. You left it all on the campaign trail. You persevered as your body was drained of its blood, sweat, and tears. You believed in a cause and you stuck with it through thick and thin, because you knew that what you were doing would lead us to a better day. You asked for nothing in return save the experiences and the knowledge that you, in your small part, were working to ensure that the future held a place for everyone.
Should the unthinkable happen and I wake up to a world tomorrow where John McCain is the president-elect (though, I will be entirely honest here, I simply cannot imagine how such a victory would even begin to be legitimate), then the trials we face are of a magnitude known only a few times in our history. I won’t even begin to speculate; not only do I feel it would be in poor taste to do so, I just don’t want to imagine it.
However, should it all come true, should these last hurdles be jumped, should these headlines of record turnout and fervor for participation in the democratic process turn out to be more than just the bloviating of pundits, then I have no doubt as to the outcome of this election, and I have no fear for the future of our country. You will have shown me that when millions of people truly care about the future of not only this nation but also the world at large that there is nothing, not one human institution that cannot be overcome. This night, this next four years, they will belong to you.
They will belong to us all.
Thank you.