election reflections

Today I sent an email to our ex-housemates in London, following up on our lively discussions about politics and the future of the world with a pre-election note on how things are in our little corner of the Most Anticipated Election Ever. I thought I'd share it here as well.

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I'm not sure that I actually ever let myself believe that Obama might be elected president, even when Joey and I were volunteering for his campaign. We want it desperately, but I think that deep down inside I was afraid to really imagine that it could happen - the disappointment would be so great if it didn't. I'm still not entirely willing to hope - I think it's not over until it's over - I'll be the Thomas at the end asking to see the marks in the ballots and to put my hand on the headlines of the newspapers before I believe. I certainly never thought I'd be wondering how to best handle the upcoming 48 hours of complete nerve-wracking suspense. Should things turn out the way we want them to, I doubt we (or just over half the country) will be able to think straight enough to comment on it all. Should they not, the despair may be overwhelming. In order to preempt the necessity of sending some kind of communication once the results are in, whichever way they go, I'm going to post my reactions now.

In the event that our wildest dreams come true:

(Nov 5)
I can scarcely believe that I'm living through this. I think I'll be on edge for the next several weeks, afraid that at any minute, I'll wake up and this whole election will have been little more than a wonderful dream, and it's actually still January of 2007. He won? We won?! There is hope for the future, despite the recession/depression/social upheaval that lie ahead??!! We're not going to work tomorrow! Champagne!! Holiday!! Obama-day! !!!!!!!!!

There aren't enough exclamation points in the world for this. :)

For months, we've been doing what we can: a few dollars donated here, a day spent knocking on doors there, posts on facebook, emails, fundraising, etc. All to try to make this a reality. It will hopefully be a little while before the headiness and euphoria wear off. There's a lot of work to be done, but I think there are a lot of people in this country who are fired up, and ready to roll their sleeves and dive in. We're confident that while it won't be pretty, if we can pull it off, the rest will slowly start to catch up. I've spent some time recently thinking about the 'greatest generation' - the demographic that came of age in WWII, took a look at the mess the world was in, tightened their belts and got to work. I wouldn't say that everything they did made sunshine and roses, in hindsight, but they definitely gave it everything they had. And their legacy is impressive. It's almost as if my generation is at that kind of a juncture now. The major democracies (for want of a better catchphrase) are facing major economic crises. As if the sub-prime/credit fiasco wasn't enough, we're collectively looking at bankrupt social security programs, internal tensions, complicated immigration issues, energy crises, environmental disaster... One could be forgiven for thinking that Armageddon might be upon us. I'm not one of those people who thinks that Obama will be the solution to everything. But I definitely believe that electing him as President is a resoundingly fantastic first step for the generation that will have to deal with this collective disaster, however things come out in the end. Let's get this show on the road.



In the event that the worst has come to pass and the sky actually is falling:

Help.



We'll see you on the other side of Tuesday the 4th.