A few nights before the election, I was making get-out-the-vote calls from my local Democratic headquarters. On one side of me was a teenage boy, on the other side was a retiree in his 60’s. The message with each call: change, change, change.
Without a doubt, an historic event happened on November 4th. Our nation rejected the doctrine of fear that the Bush propaganda machine so effectively marketed in 2004 for one of hope offered by Barack Obama. We elected a black man, and nearly allowed a woman to be a major party nominee, something that would not have been plausible a generation ago. The political landscape was forever changed, in that the Obama campaign used modern technology to communicate with and mobilize his supporters while raising millions through small online donations.
With record turnouts, millions of voices across this nation cried in unison for a change in the direction our country was going. But if this great change is going to happen, the days, weeks and months following November 4th are more important than those that preceded it.
Merely electing Obama will not end the American occupation of Iraq. It will not change the culture of profits before people or the greed of the corporations before the needs of the worker that dominates our business mentality and allowed for the economic mess we are in. A common sense, practical solution to our national health care crisis will not magically happen. A new face in the White House will not radically shift our need for imported oil toward a policy of clean, renewable energy sources.
There is an old adage that politicians don’t start the movement, but merely get in front of the parade. Whereas millions of volunteers and internet donors started the process, a President Obama alone will not create the change we need. The job is not done, the movement must continue to grow.
If the boy, retiree and I sit back and not follow through with the same fervor and passion that helped put Obama into the White House, this will all be for naught. If we want that change, however we envision it, we have to continue to be involved. Democracy requires endless vigilance, not just a rash of activity every four years.
If you spent even an hour this campaign working for that great change, then find the time to continue to be involved. Just think, by spending one hour a week you could:
• Call, even to the point of harassment, your Congressional members demanding an exit strategy in Iraq
• Email the governor and your state representatives every week and ask when are we going to get better health care in our state
• Write a letter to the editor wondering aloud why corporations are bailed out of a financial crisis but not ordinary citizens
• Attend a council meeting and ask why developers are fast tracked for building permits but not homeowners
• Join a non-profit or advocacy group that pushes for reform in the areas like living wages, elections reform, renewable resources, support for veterans or addressing the holes in our education system
The change has started, but it has not happened and it will not be fulfilled if we just go back to our normal lives and think the job is finished. Change cannot be just be a campaign slogan, but must be a conscious effort to fulfill the promise to make a difference, tomorrow and beyond.
If America is going to take a different path, tomorrow is more important than Tuesday.