A 20-Year-Old on the Meaning of the Election

{My son, Brett, who is 20 and just voted in his first presidential election, wrote the following on Facebook on Election Night. I was so proud and moved by what he wrote, that I decided to post it for others to see.}

Rise Above It

by Brett McElvaine

And they declared Barack Obama the president-elect, and said that millions and millions of people will always remember where they were when this announcement was made. I was by myself, on my couch in my apartment in Los Angeles. With a beer in reach, and after a post-election hangout with Claire and Django, which was mostly spent avoiding the election results because we're all a bit neurotic. I was alone, and the text messages and e-mails were pouring in, saying this and that. But here's the most electrifying thing to me: History was made, and I was a part of it!

To come from the television, seeing beautiful speeches and tears of joy running down the faces of masses of people--people to whom this victory means and says so much. People that never thought that they'd live to see this day: the day an African-American wins the presidency of the United States of America!

To go from that, and get on Facebook and not only see horrible racist comments but also see people encouraging an assassination of Barack Obama--and this, from people who say they have morals! So I had to start removing them as "Facebook friends," because there's absolutely zero f**king tolerance for these ignorant, racist people and certainly not for people who wish death upon others. I'm not sure about the president-elect, but it is illegal to threaten the president--and rather than report these pathetic f**kers, I just removed them and I am removing all of the negativity.

But something funny happened as I was deleting one of these "friends": just above where you click 'Remove from Friends' - this particular girl had No Doubt on her playlist and I reconsidered removing her. I f**king reconsidered removing her, but then I thought, What Would No Doubt Do? And although I'm sure they love their fans, I'm certain that they wouldn't want anything to do with this sort of extreme hatred--or any hatred, for that matter: No Doubt, No Hate. So I deleted her too, but man is it disheartening that people are that closed-minded and that cruel with their opinions. These retarded people need to ask themselves, "What Would Jesus Do?" before they call themselves a Christian. Or even ask themselves, "What Would John McCain Do?" after he gave a very gracious concession speech.

And to all of you that are "moving to Canada because Obama won," why do you even bother saying that? You know you're not; I know you're not. For one reason, you probably can't afford to move. 'You're moving to another country...' I get the point, but really, by saying that, you're just showing how little you know about other countries' politics. And if you do actually move to Canada, enjoy the universal healthcare they already have there . . . which I'm sure you know is something Barack Obama is trying to achieve.

So if you're looking to get away from Obama's politics, then maybe Canada isn't the best place for you, and neither is most of Europe; the United Kingdom, and France especially. So long London, so long Paris. There's no escaping him! Even Cuba has universal healthcare! So where ever will you guys move? Oh yeah, you won't really move.

You'll stay, and you can either be positive--and, regardless of who you voted for, enjoy this historical milestone, maybe even save today's newspaper and keep your fingers crossed, with the rest of us--as Obama said, "young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled"--Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America--keep your fingers crossed that what the future holds is brighter than what any of us could ever have imagined.

Or you'll continue to be negative; disgustingly negative, and down right evil sometimes. I guess you guys will still be there, but I want you to know: I voted for the candidate with my best interests, of course, but I also voted for the candidate who I believe will help everybody; who I hope will help everybody. You, me, the ignorant, racist, assassination-supporting people, and everyone in between alike. But please, keep that negativity far, far away from me. If you're one of those people, and you're reading this--please do at least one nice thing, and delete me from your friends. This isn't about all McCain or even most McCain supporters, obviously, but I was raised right to believe that words can't even describe how horrible something like bigotry and racism are. And murder, well that goes without saying. So to those people, please go away and let me continue enjoying my incredible life.

I called it, didn't I? I said, for a variety of reasons, that this time of the year; this and the next season, especially - will be good, if not better, if not f**king incredible. And starting even earlier for me, and now for so many people in this country--it is f**king incredible!

My best friend wouldn't tell me who he voted for. I told him that's what they do in a lot of other countries: keep that information in the family, with politics as well as religion, and although that's not how it's done here, I understand. So regardless of who he voted for, I hope that the candidate I voted for, the candidate who won, will give my friend's mother the healthcare he promised, and the healthcare she needs.

It's really so sad, about the hatred--but I still feel electrified. And regardless of who you voted for, I hope you have something to celebrate and I hope you're keeping your fingers crossed for an amazing future ahead of us--a future that we're all a part of.

I read an e-mail from my Dad that said: "This is the eleventh presidential election in which I have voted since I came of age in 1968. It's only the fourth in which the candidate for whom I voted won." I can't even begin to express my happiness for my parents! It's amazing to be alive for this. I'm happy I lived to see an African-American be the president-elect, so I'm that much happier that my parents are here to see history be made too!

-- Brett McElvaine, 11.04.08

Comments

[NewtonSylmar]

Thank you for sharing your son's maturity and insight. I don't have to tell you what a wonderful job you did raising him. We just read the best possible illustration of your love, commitment and sacrifice for the last 20 years. "Mission Accomplished" has a new meaning today...

[bajattaxx]

You are rightly proud of your son... he is as old as my younger brother and i have a feeling this generation might just be able to steernot just one nation but nations away from the war and hate mongers... Thank you all for making it happen for the whole world....

[Gronamox]

Nice blog kiddo. I have to tell you, my son, Jesse, told me about Barack two and a half years ago. I didn't think he stood a chance. Then I began to think: it's possible. Why the hell not? I listened, I read, I watched, and then the merchants of discord and evil began to chant, like they always do. They chanted so loudly in this election that they drowned themselves out. The rest of us had gone to vote for Barack.
Don't worry about the self-proclaimed killers and haters in Facebook. The ether swallows a lot people up. Barack will succeed because he has something incredible that no one else has had in a very long time. He can change people's minds if you just listen for a minute. He talks about things and he makes sense of things that we didn't understand. He also makes us feel that we must do things that are reasonable, possible, and necessary. Barack becomes the voice of reason. The voice we hear in our heads. If you are too consumed with yourself, your greed, your hate, you have to keep listening. He works wonders. He inspired a nation in utter chaos to go to the polls with their neighbors and make their votes count. Whatever happens, it will be a wonderful time to be an American. Carry on...

[Texas4Obama]

Robert- you have one fine son there in Brett to be very proud of.

[212RLamas]

great kid you have raised..
i'm sure his values are yours and we need more and more parents like you...
and more children like yours..
my best to him and thanks to both of you from me!!!

[Jour440]

Now that we have accomplished getting Obama elected, hopefully we can all work together to end this war in Iraq.

[TedB]

Robert, I have two daughters. One is two, the other five. I sincerely hope they grow up to be at least half as thoughtful and eloquent as your boy. You have a great deal to be proud about, my friend. Rise above it indeed!

[kobio]

beautiful, just beautiful.