Millions of Americans rose up Tuesday and, for a myriad of reasons, elected to take our country in an entirely new direction, vaulting Sen. Barack Obama to the presidency. Some voted to change the status quo of our politics, some voted to elect a voice for the middle class, others still voted to end American involvement in Iraq. There are certainly many other reasons that voters were in favor of Obama, and on Tuesday night, after the results were in, there was a national catharsis for many in the diverse coalition that carried him to victory.
Thousands of students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison took to the streets and marched to the state capitol building to celebrate. CNN showed over 200,000 people wildly celebrating the triumph in Chicago's Grant Park. Here at Tufts, students gathered on Packard Avenue and in front of President Bacow's house chanting "Obama!" and "Yes, we can!" and loudly singing the national anthem and "We Shall Overcome."
After such a long and contentious election cycle, these celebrations were certainly merited. For years, a growing minority has coveted the ideals that defined Obama's campaign: unity, hope, change. For years, the minority has steadily grown while seeing its ideals fall flat when it came up against the forces of the status quo on the national stage. And now this year, that growing minority has emerged as a "new American majority," as Obama said on the night of the New Hampshire primary. After years of struggle, finally a victory. No wonder thousands gathered in front of the White House to celebrate Tuesday night.
Most of this new wave of political ideals manifested itself on college campuses. The college generation has been written off for years as too lazy or too apathetic to make change collectively. In this election cycle, however, that notion has been challenged. It was the youth who first accepted Obama's vision of a new American majority. It was the young who first embraced the idea that they could make the change they seek. Inspired by his vision, young people vaulted Barack's candidacy first into political viability, then victory. On Tuesday night, young people across America realized their potential to create political change.
Obama has been elected president. But now the real work must begin. Among much of the youth, who played a large role in carrying Obama to victory, there is a feeling that the struggle is over. As President George W. Bush might say, "mission accomplished."
While the historic nature of this victory can never be discounted, our generation would be remiss if our activism stopped on Jan. 20. We have realized our ability to elect a president, to create change electorally, but it is time for this political awakening of the college generation to expand beyond influencing the election of our leaders. It is time for us to begin driving policies that will alter the world our children and grandchildren live in.
Today's events will shape the electoral map for years to come, when we are the ones running for political office. Now, we must step up and begin creating change that runs deeper than electing a new president. We need to develop a viable plan to secure our energy security. We need to fight to revitalize our education system, as it is the key to cultivating future generations. As we call for America to be a land of tolerance and justice for all, as many point to our unyielding quest for equality as evidenced by the election of an African-American president, our generation needs to lead the call to reject a definition of civil rights that stops at equal rights for all races. Instead, the definition must recognize that all Americans, regardless of creed, race or sexual orientation are afforded the same inalienable rights, as that will be the civil rights fight that defines our generation. In short, our generation must not be content with standing up every four years to elect a leader only to sit down until it is time to vote again. If we want our vision for this country to be realized, then we must constantly work to achieve that vision, regardless of who sits in the Oval Office.
On Tuesday, this generation saw the power that it holds. During this campaign, we wielded that power, putting our candidate in the White House. But we have much more work to do. Now is the time for us to start to realize that in ten years or five years or two years or tomorrow, the world is going to be ours to run. We must commit ourselves to continuing to fulfill the vision that we imagined when we embraced Obama. This generation has seen the power that political involvement can bring. We must not relinquish it. This must not be the only night we dance in the streets.
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John Harrison is a freshman who has not yet declared a major.
