This is our moment, not just because we won, but the way we won. There’s a lesson in last night’s victory for all of us.
If you have a good plan or a good idea or a good dream, you set a goal and keep your eye on the prize. You are not taken off of your game by haters, doubters and naysayers. You surround yourself with people who believe in you. And you don’t stop until you succeed.
There were so many times during this race where we all could have believed that it was no longer worth the fight. Voter suppression, voter intimidation, long lines, trickery … but we didn’t quit. Like soldiers, we marched forward together. We stood up and were counted in the crucial battleground states and the states that mathematically had little impact.
When you lived through adversity, or your parents or grandparents have, you don’t run from it. You run toward it. And through it.
So, now we know for sure that we count. We matter. We have power. We are game changers. We can elect presidents, governors and senators, school boards and block club captains. We can make a difference. We won’t always win, but we will always be a force.
Black people, young people, Latino, the disabled, gays … these are the people that gave President Obama the push he needed. This is what America looks like, whether you like it or not, and now it can’t be denied. The Republicans have some work to do. And so do we.
But right now, it’s okay to bask in the victory. Just don’t lose your job doing it.
I’m exhausted, but it’s a good tired -- the tired you feel when you’ve completed a task, when you’ve crossed the finished line, when you’ve done what someone said you were too weak to accomplish.
Posted By: DAVID JOHNSON
Friday, November 9th 2012 at 11:28AM
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