• the217
• Life
• Editor's Note

When I was three years old my family drove across America to Seattle, Wash. where my aunt and uncle lived. The entire trip I sat in the third row seat of our red Plymoth Voyager and, insisting that my parents play the cassette on repeat, belted out a thousand versions of Lee Greenwood’s tune about America, “God Bless the USA.”

Tuesday night was the first time since then that I’ve felt like singing that song. Not just because Obama will be the next president, but because this election brought an entire nation of people out to the polls because they were excited and concerned about our collective future. If you would have told be about this election four years ago, I would have laughed in your face.

This election was more than a C-SPAN snooze-fest; it was a pop culture extravaganza that drew in Americans with each twist and turn of the story. This year’s earth shattering voter turnout is both a surprise and completely expected. Obama’s enticing message of hope and change worked, and lured the American people off the couch and to the polls in record-breaking numbers to do their part to change the trajectory of a nation in shambles. Tuesday didn’t just show us how much faith we have in a future president, but how much faith we have in each other.

I think that this is the start of a new era of politics in America. Parties will realign, people will hopefully become more politically active and the standards for candidates to win an election will be higher. The American people are more media-savvy than ever, and Obama’s youth and seemingly effortless ability to capture the imagination of others exposed the desire of the American people to be inspired in ways that make sense to them.

Now that this marathon election is over, I think we’re all ready for a bit of a break. Phew. I’m just glad I don’t have to follow-up on my promise to move to Canada if Obama lost.

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