All Posts Tagged With: "civic duty"

He came out of nowhere.  He was a long shot.  Certainly I had heard of the freshman Senator from Illinois but why was he already running for President of the United States?  He hadn’t even been in the Senate that long and I knew nothing about him.

It was going to be George Bush’s last term and we were going to have candidates from both parties vying to replace him.  I watched all of the early Democratic and Republican debates and I wasn’t particularly impressed with anyone.  I had no idea who I would support.

I will even admit that I was tougher on Mr. Obama because of his newness in Congress and because I knew nothing of him.  And then I heard him speak.  He blew me away.  His message was the kind you rarely hear in politics.  It was not negative; it did not take down his opponents; it did not instill fear.  His message was about “Hope”.  The message was not about what the government can do for me but what I can do for government.  So I looked into his background.  This man came from nowhere, nothing – such humble beginnings – yet he was able to achieve so much.  For all intents and purposes he is the epitome of the American dream.  And this is before even bringing into the equation his multicultural background.  I could not help but be in awe of him.

Despite the fact that he seemed to be the perfect candidate, there was still the matter of his skin color.  Even in 2008 America, racism is still prevalent in every day life.  “How would that affect Mr. Obama’s chances at winning the nomination let alone the presidency?” I worried. And an incredible thing happened – he won Iowa.  As I watched him win primary after primary defying the odds, I was still in disbelief.

During the course of the campaign I could not help but be further impressed in his ability to endure his opponents’ attempts to diminish him.  The campaign that he ran is unlike any that I have ever seen.  It’s the kind that only works in civics textbooks; everyone knows that good guys finish last.

I can tell you that I never thought this would happen.  I hoped it would but I can admit that I was cynical – but not cynical to the point of not supporting him.  (This was the first time I’ve actually participated in a political campaign.)  Personally I think cynicism is a self-defense mechanism.  We protect ourselves by not getting our hopes up too high.  The thing, however, with Barack Obama was that his campaign was about hope.  And his winning of this most important election has given many people (including myself) permission to hope again.

This is only the beginning.  We have to hold Obama and his administration accountable for the things that were promised.  That is our job as citizens.  I pray that the momentum that was started with this campaign continues to be strong.  The kind of involvement that was a part of this presidential election should be a part of every election – national or local. It should be part of everyday politics.  The “We” in “Yes We Can” is the same “We” in “We the People”.  Mr. Obama gave us our government back so the question is what are we going to do with it?

Photo by: b_d_solis

One minute, I was at the polling place. Half an hour later, I was on the train going to work. This was the first time I’ve voted in a primary election. As an independent, I didn’t know that I was able to (probably because I started voting in DC which has closed elections). After finding out that I could vote in Virginia primaries, I did some research to see what other states have open primaries. Looks like I missed some primary voting opportunities in Wisconsin as well. I should have known that the Wisconsin primaries were open because one can actually walk up on election day, register and vote right there on the spot. I did that the first time I voted there.

Wish this had been clearer and less “yellow”. Blame Metro for that. I should have used my flash but I didn’t want to alarm anyone.

Originally uploaded by kenyaoa

(Updated: I also made a video.  I guess I was excited.)

DC, Maryland and Virginia will hold their primary elections tomorrow, February 12. Whether you support Obama, Huckabee, Clinton or McCain, be sure to go out and vote. If you are not already registered to vote, you should definitely make sure you do so in time for the November elections.

VOTE!!!

I’m particularly excited because as an independent, I thought that I was not able to participate in primaries. Oh, but I am as Virginia has open primaries. This means that whether you are Democrat, Republican, Green, Independent, or whatever you still get to vote in the primary of your choice.