In Dec 05, I read "Audacity of Hope" by Obama and was moved. So when an opportunity came for me (mid 50's) to volunteer and campaign for Barack, I grabbed it with both hands. In Jan 06 I started distributing leaflets, chatting talking points with passerby's, and meeting other volunteers on the Main Street in Newark, close to University of Delaware. To state politely, the youth in this city was disillusioned about where the country was headed. And they were already familiar with Barack, and his message of hope, even at that time. So I didn't have to sell them...they already knew Barack's politics of inclusiveness. At that time I recognized if he is to win the election it will be on the back of this youthful group, this hip-hop generation.
The youth of America delivered the election to Barack, 63% for. Many older Americans with whom I interacted were skeptical about this black man's chances in this mostly monolithic society. But the young people: the most malleable, the most open, the least prejudiced, the most engaged, the group that has the most to lose or gain from the election: had faith and determination and their imagination became our reality.
They rebelled against torture of fellow humans in their name. They wept when New Orleans drowned. They were dismayed by the wars. They are in horror for the inhumanity of the system that pays the CEO of a company 400 times more than the lowest paid worker in the company. And then shipping their jobs abroad. And finally running their companies to the ground. They chaffed at a theft so huge that it is right now rocking the entire global financial and monetary systems. They were aghast at the privacy invasion by government wiretapping us. They were angry about shredding of our Constitution in the name of fighting terrorism.
The election of Barack Obama, a resounding progressive voice, is a clear reflection of this youth consciousness. Embracing hard work, passionate about the need to take their country back, and driven by an ennobling ideology based on compassion and generosity, they overcame fear, anger and greed to propel a once unknown to the highest office in the country. In the belief that lasting peace through dialogue than through the wickedness of war is a humane route. In the hope that we can realize our full human potential through noble principles and peaceful ideas that dignifies our humanity rather than through coarse, belligerent force. This electoral victory is a testament to the American youth's noble collective consciousness that is now flowering.