Now It's Our Turn

Whether you are Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, or believe, as I do that Josiah Bartlett should have been elected president, there is one thing we can all pretty much agree on. Government cannot solve all of our problems. There are certain things that the government does really well, but when it comes to the greater issues of our country, it will not be the government that creates change; it is going to have to be us.

So now that we have elected Barack Obama, the senator that ran the “Change Campaign”, it is time for us to start our work. We cannot simply sit back and become complacent in the knowledge that our new president is going to make everything alright. We are going to have to lead the charge, stop complaining, and do something. We cannot leave the public service to the politicians.

This is an amazing day. My parents were born before the Civil Right Act of 1964. It wasn’t that long ago that blacks were not even allowed to vote; and today our president elect is an African American. If that isn’t progress, I am not sure what is. But we can’t stop there because not only good things happened today. Proposition 8 in California passed. There is obviously still work to be done.

What is our responsibility? Work at the local level to make change. Make changes in your own life. Stop complaining and do something. Get together with your neighbors and friends and change the things that you want changed. Obama worked his ass off to get where he is today. We should be working too.