No President pleases everyone. I realized that before I committed myself to the Obama campaign. I've never had the expectation that a President Obama would do my bidding on every issue. It is enough that we share basic values. I'll support him as much as possible and criticize him when I must. But there is one demand that I do make. It is a demand that I hope you all will join me in.
I demand to be called to service. I demand to be asked to contribute to my community.
Much was made of the words "community organizer" in this election. Most shamefully at the Republican convention when Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani openly mocked community organizers even as some in the audience held signs boasting the word "service".
Service is important to me. One day when I was out registering voters in my uber-conservative corner of central Georgia, I ran into a gentleman I knew from work who was shocked that I'd be donating my time to work for Barack Obama.
He told me I was foolish for thinking either of "these guys" could make an ounce of difference. I answered, "look at all the people he's got volunteering for him. Go on Youtube and search the words Camp Obama and see how he is training the next generation of community leaders. These people won't stop contributing to their communities when the campaign is over. They'll start literacy campaigns and fight poverty in their home towns. This...above all else...is why I think Obama has already has made a difference."
His answer: "All of that will stop after the election".
So here we are. The election is over and we triumphed. We built the largest and best GOTV operation in American history. The Obama campaign holds the key to the greatest activist infrastructure ever, and we are now riding a moment of real optimism and civil engagement.
This must not be wasted.
President-elect Obama...you rightly criticized President Bush for asking nothing of us after 9/11. You awakened the dormant spirit of a country that was once willing to come together when asked. You made us think back on John F. Kennedy's excoriation to ask not what our country could do for us, but instead what we can do for our country.
With all of this in mind President-elect Obama...I challenge you. I challenge you to challenge me. Call me into service. Call all Americans to think beyond themselves.
I call upon the DKos community to join me in making this demand. I call on all of you to bang this drum every day until January 20th so that this feeling builds and this expectation grows.
All of this had to be about more than an election. If not...it could not have been worth the effort. I am confident that Barack Obama would ask me anyhow even if I did not demand it, but I will not be an inactive participant in American life any more.
I demand to be asked. Anything less is unacceptable to me.
President-elect Obama - don't forget about us.