| | |  Editorials | Opinions | November 2008 
Dreams and Votes
 John Cory - t r u t h o u t
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| | A mourning dove with white, brown and black markings rests for a moment on a strand of barbed wire. (Photographer unknown.) | | |
"Not only is another world possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing."
- Arundhati Roy
I wrote my first piece for Truthout eight years ago. It was the end of the 2000 election. George Bush had been crowned the victor by a 5 to 4 Supreme vote. I had never heard of Marc Ash and Scott Galindez, nor they me. I have no idea what their readership was in those days; I only knew that I had discovered voices in the dark that gave me solace and hope. And before long, I found Hoffmania, Buzzflash, Bartcop, the great and wise Digby, Eschaton and Dailykos, and many others. I was no longer alone.
Whether I was in Saudi Arabia, the border of Iraq and Kuwait or the great Hindu Kush of Afghanistan, there was always a link to voices of compassion and reason, of democratic patriotism and change. Voices of that wonderful dream called America. That quiet breathing of hope.
From those dark times to the light and possibility that is today, we have held true to one another, to the dream of inspiration over fear, to the greatness of the American heart over the misguided might of American Empire, to the fight for the future versus the struggle to hold tightly to the past. "We, the People" have illuminated the darkness with much more than "a thousand points of light," with our electronic pamphleteers and motivated emails, and revealed the erroneous and divisive tactics of red versus blue America. "We, the People" have kept the flame of American passion and democracy alive.
This vast web of blogs and Internet "series of tubes" has connected us, has built a community wherein we share the facts and the truth, one with another. No longer isolated but a part of something greater. Hope has become a keyboard shortcut. Truth waits at the end of the "Send" button. Dreams and inspiration become viral. How wonderful is that? How great is it that we belong to such a community? How magical is it that we hold democracy in the palm devices of our hands? That the virtual and "real" America is our homepage?
And here we are - on the verge of history. Together. And how did we get here? In the words of Studs Terkel: "... once you become active in something, something happens to you. You get excited and suddenly you realize you count." And that is what Obama represents to me. It is not a vote for Democrat or Republican, but a vote for America. It is not about voting for one man or the other, but about voting for ourselves. That we count - and rightfully deserve to be counted. It is not that we stand with Obama, but that he stands with us. It is not that Obama can make history, but rather that "We the people" can change history.
This is what I see in my vote for Barack Obama. The face of America. A mirror of all of us. And like our own mirror, the image is not perfection but rather the blemished garden of possibility. Hope. Dreams. Compassion. A longing for the best that is within each of us even on our worst days. Obama's face is my face and your face. Black, white and brown, it is that mystical rainbow called America.
This is truly a day of votes and dreams. |
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