It's now 6:51 am in London and I'm awake, too excited to even sleep. Is this the day that we have been dreaming of for the past months? Will the Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, become the first African American president of the USA?
My heart beat is racing and I want to believe: in change, in Obama, and most importantly, in the American people. The political debates happening at the London School of Economics have been both interesting and intellectually stimulating! Yet, so many people here seem extremely critical of the American people. Many are discounting the polls and wondering if Obama will even be elected.
I choose to dream... because whether Obama wins or not... there is no doubt in my mind that he has changed America's political outlook and that he has drastically changed the way future political campaigns will be run, through the effective use of the internet. For one thing, many of my previously politically apathetic American friends now care about the elections! They're standing up for the candidate they believe in! Most of their facebook profiles say "X has donated his status to Barack Obama/ John Mc Cain.... click here to join the cause." For me this is a dream come true! This represents such an important change since the 2004 elections, where Facebook or Youtube weren't even used as media to canvas for votes and where many of my friends didn't care about voting or working on the campaign trail. This year for the first time many of them gave up the opportunity to have real, stable jobs and spent the year on the road, all over the US, canvassing: for Hilary, for Obama or for Mc Cain.
So whatever the outcome of this elections... Obama has made the American people hope, believe and show the world what they're truly made of. Today, for the first time in history, Americans can cast a vote for an African American President. On the campaign trail, you see many faces of elderly African American voters: the awe, the wonder, the disbelief. After so many years, an African American was running for President. How many generations had suffered through slavery and discrimination for this day to come?
So, in spite of what may/ may not happen, my heart and my vote (lol... if I were American) goes out to Barack Obama! Thanks for believing in the American dream! Thanks for believing in the young people... for empowering us... and for making us believe that we can change the world!!!! These truly are some of the most precious gifts in life!
