One Giant Step

We did it.

We fought. We hoped. We worked. We cried. We panicked. We debated. We held our breath. But after a 21 month campaign and eight years of sorry leadership and squandered opportunity, we did it. It's not hyperbolic to say that we helped shift the course of the world.

America has just elected a president who built his campaign out of millions of individual voices. Ours. You can almost say the country elected a movement. Barack Hussein Obama (Will they use his whole name at the inauguration?) inspired you, me and so many people we know, to get up, get involved and get into it.

So now what?

We will bask in the celebratory glow for a few days, maybe weeks. And then get excited again as we approach January 20th and the pomp and circumstance that consumes the moment. But I know that over the coming days and weeks, life will also go on, just as it did in the months leading up to the election. What we do individually, and collectively, will determine how radical a departure we make from the past. Obama can only successfully preside over a willing constituency. How committed we are to substantive change beyond blackening a circle in a ballot will define how great the next chapter in American history is.

There will be no vacuum in the National conversation. Somebody will step up to fill any vacancies in dialogue, or breaches in momentum. It could be an ally or a foe. Might be somebody with a shared vision, or an advocate for the polar opposite. If we're lucky, it will be a more unifying and collaborative faction. If history shows us anything, chances are it won't.

Any forward action will demand continued engagement by anybody who showed up to the polls to cast a vote. And even by those who--unbelievably--sat this one out. For them, and for all of us, the next chapter is as important as the first. It won't have nearly the ceremony or pageantry as this round, but it will be just as urgent. And it's where we will really see what we're made of.

This originally appeared on my blog.

Read more reaction from HuffPost bloggers to Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 presidential election

Follow Raymond Leon Roker on Twitter: www.twitter.com/raymondroker

Comments

[theworldisturning]

Really well said. As you pointed out, history was made... Looking to the past doesn't always show the way to the future. It's a creative leap to take it somewhere new. That same creativity that you've fostered in your work giving voice to the new generations (like your mag, by the way), and countless others do in their way as well in many fields, creative, political, science, etc. (yeah, even "community organizing"). Thanks for articulating what we all know will be the next stage... good or bad, but let's hope good. It's energizing to participate as I think a lot of folks found out! On both sides. A part of our democracy is a healthy synthesizing of ideas thru the dialectic. And it's damn interesting. Dare I say... engaging? There is a lot of interesting tv writing, but life is pretty compelling too...

[Bombenhagel]

Well said, Raymond. We realize this is a tremendous opportunity, and just getting here was only the beginning of change. Barack Hussein Obama has inspired millions here and probably billions worldwide. It's true that history was made. The voice of a new generation of Americans spoke decisively, on an Electoral scale of something like 2:1 (349-172). That's huge, and it is huge good news around the world. This moment is a monumental victory for the USA. A monumental victory...

Now is our moment. We need to be forward thinking and use this opportunity wisely. Off topic, I am going to get a green job!

They promised us hovercraft in the 1950's. Detroit needs to get with program big time or they will be surprised like the music industry was when a new business model emerged. I am by no means an engineer, but I can think of so many clever ideas for electric cars with turbines in the axles, windmills in the hubcaps and electromagnetic propulsion, I just may have to start a new car company.

No, seriously. We need to use the power wisely. I want a hovercraft!

[mmgbizgirl]

Just a minute to celebrate...

Here is my souvenir tribute to the President Elect and family.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5QigRkg9G8

Enjoy!