November 10 2008

Imagine if THIS were the first election of your lifetime…

I’m a political junkie. For the last two years, I’ve watched all the coverage, listened to all the talk radio, read blogs, thought about issues, etc. However, I’m not a “supporter”, meaning that I haven’t, to date and not sure I’ll ever be, one of those folks who puts a sign in the yard, wears a button, or volunteers for a candidate’s campaign. That’s not to say I’m not highly invested in the way in which any election goes, it just means that I vote for my candidates choosing to do so because I think they are the best of the worst options. Even if I was running for office, I’d vote for myself with trepidation because I know I have flaws and strengths and so do all the candidates who run.

So background aside, I’ve just been struck by the fact that THIS election is the first election in my daughter’s life. Now politics aside, imagine a world where THIS election was the first of your lifetime — this historic election where there was no other possibility but to have either an African American or a woman elected on a ticket. This election where technology played such a huge roll in the voting outcome, where youth mobilized to voice opinions on both sides of the fence in ways not seen in elections past, where it appears we will have record voting turnouts signaling an immense sense of engagement and commitment by citizenry in how our future will be shaped, and where in the end we elected the first African American to the highest office in the land.

What will it mean for my daughter as she grows up? We can only wait and see, but it’s it exciting to imagine what it will be like if this was the foundation of your political history.