I've read two articles today that echoed what I've been thinking ever since the election:
Under Obama, Web Would Be the Way
Obama’s Call to Change: What Is Everyone Waiting For?
I hope you'll check out the articles if you haven't read them yet, but if you're in a hurry, the titles are fairly self-explanatory: The first details President-elect Obama's new media plans as an outgrowth of the campaign's web presence; the second is an opinion piece on how we should -- nay, must -- use the existing structure to make America a better place.
I know I'm only about the five millionth person to comment on this topic, but I'm just so filled with joy to see others thinking and saying the same thing.
The Obama campaign convinced me, for the first time, that I could make a difference when it came to our nation. Not by myself -- what I can do by myself is only grains of sand. But when you take my grains of sand and your grains of sand and all our grains of sand and put them together, there's sand as far as the eye can see.
Now that the campaign's over and we've seen the great things we can do for the country, let's expand. Electing Obama is a terrific first step, but what else can we do for the nation? Who can we feed, who can we support, what can we do for the environment? Some actions might be as simple as dropping by the food bank with donations, or as elaborate as... I don't know. The potential is unlimited. By working for the good of the nation, we can truly create a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
A friend of mine who voted for McCain said after the election, "When it comes right down to it, we generally all want the same things. We all want people to be happy. We all want people to be healthy. We all want clean, cheap, renewable energy and a clean planet. We want all babies to be born healthy and wanted." I believe the best thing we can do right now is work on ways to achieve these things, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans. Actions will always speak louder than words, and perhaps this is the best way we can reassure the 48% that we are all Americans first.