Hi dailyKos community,
I'm 23, I'm a law student, and for the first time in my life, I feel like the direction of this country has been guided by my own hands, even if in only a small way. For the first time I feel like my own vote, cast all the way back in Washington State, meant something. I feel enfranchised.
I'm recovering from the last 48 hours of 500 miles driven, 14 hours of standing in the cold and the rain in Virginia, 1 hour of sleep, a dozen cups of coffee and, the experience of total triumph. I spent my entire election day at a precinct in southern Virginia helping the Obama campaign ensure voters' rights were protected. Got to put that law degree (that I nearly have!) to good use, right? My job was overseeing the poll workers, making sure the laws are followed, helping voters to make sure they have the right ID, are in the right place, making sure the disabled have ballots brought out to them, that the polls are opening on time, that the machines are functioning and that there's no voter intimidation going on, etc, etc.
My friends and I drove for four hours on monday night and woke up at 4am to arrive at the polls to find massive, tired and restless voters and a steady drizzle. At my precinct, we had three machines break within the first hour, and the lines ballooned to a 2.5 hour wait at the worst. It was looking grim. But within an hour, the machines were fixed, the lines slowly shrunk and the rest of the day went smoothly. No republican intimidation, no snafus and minimal lines. Democracy may be unwieldy at best, but with a lot of hard working poll workers and a lot of excited voters, it can chug along pretty well. But it doesn't just HAPPEN. We gathered up at the end of an exhausting day, and as we drove back up 95 through the pouring rain, we listened to the radio announce each state and discuss the meaning of it all. We cheered at each Obama state, and especially hard when Ohio and later Virginia were announced. When Obama had finally technically clinched it, we felt triumphant. We felt like we were a part of it. After Obama's amazing speech, we crossed the bridge over the Potomac, and looking over Washington DC, it finally sunk in that Obama had finally succeeded, that he was coming here, and that we finally have our opportunity to make some progress in this country and shape our futures the way we want it. It was truly an amazing night.
Someone called me a "good American" today when I told them what I did in Virginia. But I didn't do it to be a good American, I did it to live in a good America.
For me, I never really cared that he was black - I just thought he'd make the best president. But I do recognize the fact that America for the first time in its history just elected a president who doesn't fit into many of the usual categories. It is a huge leap into a post-racial world where it honestly doesn't matter what someone looks like, but what their ideas are. By helping out, I feel like I am a part of that leap, and that my idea of what America is, can be, and should be is represented. And I'm seriously proud of us all for making that leap.
And I'm not sure I honestly ever saw it happening in my lifetime, as young as I am. But it did, I'm glad, and I can't wait to see what kind of progress the next four years holds for us. It's a good America today.
Updt: Pics! Taken at about 6:45am