Thursday, November 6, 2008

Its A New Dawn, Its A New Day In America


Its A New Dawn, A New Day, And I'm feeling good. November 4th 2008 was the best day of my life to date. Today Barak Obama is set to lead this nation to changes for the good.
I was a poll worker for this historic election and the diverse numbers of people who came out to vote was an amazing thing to observe. There were young people coming out to vote for the first time and the percentage of the youth vote had doubled compared to previous elections. There were old women and men in wheelchairs and walking canes determined to surrender their vote by mail envelope and actually come to the polls and click their vote in. The final count for the day was 689 voters that I helped process.
As I drove away from the precinct I headed to the heart of LA to see what the streets were saying. Never in my time on this earth have I seen such joy and celebration for a new President of the United States. There were people in the streets waving at each other, honking their horns, screaming out "Obaaaammmmmaaaaa". There were tough over masculine grown men letting their guard down and allowing themselves to be vulnerable and tears began to fall down their face. From Lemeirt Park to Ladera Center at Magics TGIF to various lounges and clubs everybody was celebrating. The city's heart was beating fast and hard.
When I listened to Barak Speech tears fell down my face. Never had I heard a President after winning still bring it back to the people. All I heard is what "we" still need to do and how "we" have to be responsible as Americans for our own actions and the communities around us. Never have I heard a President acknowledge the groups that didn't vote for him and call out for their help so that "all people" can work together for the greater good. Dr. King believed that "all people" should work together for the greater good of this nation. I have had the opportunity to travel and live abroad and my friends from London from Spain and even an associate from Germany were telling me how happy they were and how America finally picked the right person for the job. Barak Obama is a global president. My colleague from Columbia now living in the states said that finally she felt apart of this place called America. Finally I feel like dreamers can actually live awake. Little children of color who say I want to be president of the United States will not be looked at crazy as if they have unattainable aspiration.