Victory!
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Even now, hours after Obama’s victory was secured beyond any doubt I still find myself in shock. You see, I cannot help but be. Though I believed ardently in Barack Obama and have the utmost faith in America, the disappointments and setbacks dealt in 00′ and 04′ left me skeptical and frustrated. The amount of hate, intolerance, and misinformation that has been disseminated over the last year is a profoundly tragic thing. Despite those disappointments; tolerance, hope and a new crowning achievement in America’s rich and illustrious history has been accomplished. That is a beautiful tribute to all that is good in people.
There are several points I’d like to make.
The first of which, is why I am personally thrilled to have Barack Obama as President Elect. Contrary to what you might believe, it’s not because of his Tax Policies, it’s not because of his Health Care, and it’s not because of his Race. Each of those are important, but each of those are also secondary issues for me. I want to share my own, personal, priorities in the hope of helping some of you understand why I view Obama’s win as so pivotal and healthy for America.
Technology - For me, this is one of the big issues. I am a stalwart believer that we are on the cusp of the next major economic and industrial shift. The modern Digital Revolution is already under way and every bit as significant as the Industrial Revolution. The principles and expected behaviors associated with the Digital Revolution explicitly explain most of our economic, social, and civil woes. As things unfold, I see countless parallels and lessons to be learned from the Industrial Revolution. Obama repeatedly participated in open dialogue on technology and has said that he believes in and advocates net neutrality and working towards the establishment of a national broadband infrastructure befitting the worlds super power. Like the national highway system and trans American rail system before it – a national broadband infrastructure is paramount to a competitive 21st century America.
Further, Obama’s support and embrace of R&D and progressive technological platforms differentiated him from McCain in a very distinct way. It’s also why he drew supporters like Larry Page of Google, Bill Gates of Microsoft, Guy Kawasaki and the majority of the leaders in the High Tech industry. Technology will be the vehicle that powers our economy, it will be what creates new jobs, and it will be what allows us to not only stay competitive, but to stay a step ahead of other industrialized nations. We cannot re-industrialize to compete with China, India and Africa. The more time and energy we spend trying to do so, the more we lose our advantage and sacrifice the well being of our citizenry. We can however, create new industry, new economies, and new market advantages.
Education – I am a firm believer in the power and necessity of education. When your education system falters, your society falters. There are few things on this earth more powerful than a highly educated, informed populace. Further, you cannot lead the world without a heavy emphasis on intellectualism for any extended period of time. Our education system, cultural perception and treatment of intellectualism is atrocious. It has been neglected, abused, and miss-managed for years. The combination of Obama and his wife’s personal dedication to academic excellence combined with their technological awareness was a stark contrast to McCain/Palin’s outright anti-intellectual campaign claims (Planetarium Projector/Fruit Fly talking points) and far less notable academic track records. Obama has fought for schools, science, and education for years and has even spent time as a Professor for a major university. We need a teacher and an intellectual to lead us forward and I am confident that Obama is both. For why his stance on Technology is important, please see my other posts on educating Millennials. Further, as an individual with a degree in Constitutional law and passion for it I believe he will be opposed to and work to counter the movement which is pushing anti-intellectualism in the form of creationist dogma.
Political Presence - Often ignored or overlooked, the reality is that the US is at the forefront of an international community. Hours instead of weeks or months now separate the World’s Nations. It is a global community that is far more interconnected than most of us realize. It is also far more diverse than most Americans realize. I’ve been lucky enough to visit over 20 countries as well as the majority of the U.S. – I know how diverse this nation is, and have some idea of how incredible the diversity is in the world.
You cannot lead what you do not understand. For that reason Obama was my choice – two fold. On the one hand he has experienced the world, traveled it, seen it, and more importantly sought to experience, explore and understand it. Second, he has the support of the world…he embodies what a world leader should be. Someone of vast intelligence, cultural awareness, and international perception. He is loyal to America and its needs, but also understands how to accomplish those needs.
Brute force and threats won’t always work. It’s necessary, as in all things, that we talk and seek political solutions before relying on force. Even the strongest Juggernaut will eventually be brought down by enough spiderwebs. There’s a reason that most Europeans can identify US states while we have trouble locating their country. There’s also a reason that our election map was on the front page of the Guardian and a central focus of the BBC etc. – in many ways this was a world election and for all of the right reasons the world – and America won. An Obama Presidency will, I hope, re-introduce a head of state into the White House able to operate and behave Presidentially and in a manner befit his rank and role as most powerful man in the world.
Economy - I’ll avoid going into great depth on this one as I’ve outlined a fair share of my basic world view above, as well as previously here and in my posts on the Technological Revolution. However, in summary I honestly believe that Obama’s victory gives us the best chance at maintaining and moving back towards securing our position as the worlds dominant super power. We truly are on the cusp of a modern economic revolution, one that will re-define global powers and balance. I honestly feel that America can and will lead the charge into the 21st century and digital age – but only if we act now and counteract the slothenly start we’ve had. Even the current economic crisis is being miss-portrayed. It’s not an American economic crisis, it’s global in scope and the factors causing it and playing out are international in nature. Until we realize that and respond to it correctly we will continue to fight false shadows.
Lastly, A Thank You
I want to thank you all. First and foremost, I want to thank you for putting up with and at times suffering through the deluge of links, status updates, and political points and facts I’ve posted over the last year. Those 600 or so of you on Facebook were especially good about putting up with it, responding, and reading the material. I want to thank each and every one of you who participated, shared information, and debated with me for helping me improve my knowledge, helping motivate my research and better preparing me to share the information I had collected.
I want to especially thank those of you who contacted me privately to say, “Keep up the good work” or with gratitude for the links and information I was posting. If not for your positive feedback and words of support and encouragement I probably would have abandoned the posting of the material months ago. Above and beyond those thank yous I’m both grateful and energized at how many of you took up the cause and began re-posting the information, fact checking your peers, and energizing those around you. Watching the ripples that we created as you picked up the call truly was an incredible thing, and one that I believe reached far more people than we will ever realize. Obama’s victory was made possible by grass roots efforts and your actions were the backbone of those efforts. Every time you stood up against misinformation, fact checked inaccurate claims, or deceitful ads, and strove to spread awareness of Obama’s policies, background, and character you catapulted the campaign toward victory. We can make a difference and we have.
I’d also like to take a moment to specifically thank “J” & “S”. Beginning with our efforts in the primaries for Obama and Ron Paul you were both phenomenal sounding boards. The energy, motivation, and drive we shared with each other pushed us to succeed. From reaching out and helping to remind/educate and prepare 800 youth voters to constantly posting and sharing new information and resources to the time spent walking door to door encouraging people to research and then vote, I believe we made a difference. Thank you for your drive, passion and helping me believe that one lone American, one lone individual truly can make a difference even in a nation as large and diverse as the U.S.
We have made a difference, but it’s not over. Now the hardest part begins. From this day forward we must remind President Obama that as a candidate of the people, he must serve as a President for the people.
