Over the past couple months, I’ve been out knocking on doors, making phone calls and talking with co-workers about the importance of the 2008 election. During that time, I’ve encountered many people who are new to the political process, people who were excited to make their voices heard through the electoral process. And there was good reason for the excitement.
Like millions of other people, I was heartened by the election of Barack Obama. I believe it’s a great event in our nation’s history for several reasons.
For starters, I like what this election tells me about the intelligence of my country’s citizens. Though many fretted that the voters weren’t ready for an African-American president, that maybe the latent racism was too strong of an undercurrent in our culture, it’s clear now that the majority of voters were able to look past superficial issues of fear and racism to choose the most capable leader.
In talking with so many excited voters before and after the election, I’ve heard from folks who feel satisfied that their voices have been heard, people who feel a great achievement has come to pass this year. And this is absolutely true. President-elect Barack Obama substantiates the hope of mending huge gaps in the fabric of equality and justice. His achievement, shared by the millions of Americans who cast votes in his favor, should fuel our hopes to achieve even more.
We who understand working class issues on a personal level need to make sure hope turns into reality. We need to do that by encouraging, and sometimes even insisting, that President-elect Obama and Congress take measures that will level the playing field for all of us. These issues include a tax policy that rewards work over wealth, a business and labor environment that allows not only survival but dignity for everyone, and passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Those are some of the key issues that got working class voters to stand behind Mr. Obama, and they must also be issues on which he stands behind us. And that’s where political involvement, beyond just voting, comes in.
To anyone who has just recently become involved in the political process — or even those whose political involvement has been limited to voting — I encourage you to stay involved. Don’t wait for the next election.
Get involved every time you hear, see or read about an issue affecting working people. Make sure your representatives at all levels know how you feel about such issues. Let them know by calling them on the phone, sending them letters or walking into their offices. Citizens who are heard have far more influence than those who remain silent.
History was made last week because millions of voices made themselves heard in the voting booth. And then millions were heard celebrating that historic achievement. This is what can happen when people make themselves heard, but there is much more to achieve. Now is no time to go silent
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Filed under: 2008 Presidential election, elections, politics
