Election 2008 is a great memory for me.  It was my first opportunity to vote in the Presidential election, and being registered in the newly-categorized “swing state” of North Carolina meant that my liberal ballot might not go unnoticed.  To see it turn blue after years of Republican domination was as shocking and joyous an occasion as Mr. Obama being elected nationwide.  Yes, we did!

That’s me, second from the left and then second from the right, celebrating in Punch’s Alley at Wellesley

That evening, as I sat in Wellesley College’s on-campus pub, coloring in my electoral map as CNN called each state for Obama or McCain, I was almost disappointed with how quickly it all seemed to be over.  I had just spent the last two years arguing politics with both close family and complete strangers, and watching the campaigns every step of the way– what was I going to do, now?

Don’t get me wrong, it was great.  Mr. Obama’s victory speech was exactly what I wanted to hear:  a new President who spoke of peace instead of war, of modesty instead of extravagance, of patriotism instead of pride, of responsibility as well as freedoms.  If you missed his speech, or would like to relish in it again, check it out with the full text here.

Best of all was his acknowledgment of every citizen’s role in this election.  More important to me, perhaps, than the man who was elected, was the number of people who voted.  It’s estimated that over 123 million people voted– that’s about 62.8 percent of the voting age population of the United States.  For more statistics, go to the BBC Election page.  Yes, we did!

I mean, honestly, after hearing the horrible things people were saying about Obama which were completely grounded in prejudice, I saw the majority of the nation come to their senses.  Like, hey, maybe not everyone in America is a selfish, money-loving, earth-destroying parasite.  People registered.  They voted.  Some stood in line for upwards of three hours.

So I’m celebrating.  Maybe not even over Obama, but over the fact that for just a moment– a small, glimmering moment– the people of the United States of America found something to care about enough to act on it to make a difference.  The majority of them.  My sister of thirty-six voted for the 3rd time EVER.  So ya know what, if Obama made having a political opinion cool or sexy, or enraged people enough to get out there to oppose him, he’s done SOMETHING already.  If nothing else, give him a little credit for stirring it up a bit.  And give the majority of the nation credit for breaking that crust of apathy for which our generation known.

So the idea that we should be worried about what Obama will do after he takes his oath is not the issue.  We should be worried about what we’re not doing right now.  Not to sound too much like the Starbucks commercial, but what if we cared as much about these issues to do something every day, not just election day?

My plea with the American people is not to be patient with the new President, come January 2009. In fact, it is just the opposite. Barack Obama stated that, “we are the people we’ve been waiting for.” Hanging modifier aside, he is absolutely right. We are the people we’ve been waiting for. But we’ve been these people all along. So why are we waiting at all? Do we really need to wait until January, when our new President is sworn into office, when he will save us from all of our plights and oppressions?  I fear that citizens will become disillusioned no matter who they voted for, if things do not change fast enough.

The President isn’t going to be America’s savior. We are. We need to stop waiting, and stop expecting someone else to do the saving.

The presidential platform is not the only platform for change, and there are platforms besides political ones– just look at replyforall. In fact, those non-political platforms are usually the ones that get things done. Look around. There are people everywhere. It’s about time we put our trust and hope in each other and in ourselves. So I hope that, come January, Barack Obama will not be leading our nation. Because our nation should be leading him.

Fight the Good Fight,

Johanna Hudgens

Wellesley College

Class of 2009