¡Sí se puede!

Yes, we can. Yes, we did. People showed up, people voted, and Barack Obama is our president-elect. I watched election coverage and waited for the results. They trickled in, and just when I thought it couldn't possibly be that easy, it turned out that they called the race. Who knew? The polls were pretty much on point. I sat on that couch next to B., wondering which states had tipped the balance, watching the crowd in Grant Park cry and cheer, and I just shook. I shook because I knew I was watching something so much greater than me, greater than B., greater than Barack Obama himself. This is another step in that march towards a more perfect union, towards equality and justice in this nation. This is part of the history of this nation - a point on the broken road - and a step towards the future. It's taken me a while to put my thoughts in order. I mean, of course, I'm thrilled that Obama won because I voted for him, but this goes beyond that.
I feel like I'm standing on the verge of this swell of public participation, like there is this lovely hope visible on the horizon, like I'm part of this unbelievable mobilization to make this nation MY nation. Does that make sense? I'm a part of this. Besides my $25 contribution to the campaign, my attendance at a rally, my Obama t-shirts, and my vote; I am now expected to participate in this change. It's an invitation that resonates with me as I'm studying community development; I mean, this is what I want to do. I want to participate and I want to invite others to do the same. Barack Obama makes me feel like I can do just that - like it's my patriotic duty to do so. This is my nation, my government: by the people, for the people....

And then there's the obvious: this issue of race, of knocking down this barrier, of making me believe that this country can really begin to heal the deepest wounds of race and ethnicity.... This is the idealist in me talking, I'm sure. I don't by any means believe that this proves that race is no longer an issue. I'm too smart and too brown to believe such foolishness; this will not change overnight with Barack Obama, but there's something visionary about it. This is the nation taking the steps necessary in a post-civil rights movement era - an era characterized by a change in demographics. Power is not going to be centralized soley in the hands of the old money, WASP establishment. The outsider has found his way into the White House. It's the kind of thing that brings hope to a fellow outsider.

This is a beautiful thing, the verge of something greater.



Four years ago, a coworker told me that at church they prayed for candidate that they were supporting and also prayed for the opposing candidate. Today, post-election, I remember that story and I pray:

I pray for Barack Obama and his beautiful family. I pray that he will have the grace and humility to create relationships and partnerships that will benefit the nation and the world at large; I pray that he will have the wisdom and discernment to make sound decisions; I pray that he will have the strength and courage to stand by his convictions. I pray that God will keep him and his family safe.

I pray for John McCain. I pray that he will continue to be a man known for working across party lines; that he will continue to be gracious; that he would have the foresight and the vision to keep working for change in Washington. He is a good man, too.

I pray for Bush. I pray for wisdom in these final months of presidency. It struck me today that he can't possibly feel very good about himself in light of record low approval ratings, so I pray for him....

Do it.

Tomorrow's the big day. I mentioned Barack Obama here in early March of 2007, which pretty much makes this the longest campaign EVER. That's about a year and a half ago! But this is the last day of that longest political season, and to be quite honest I'm ready for it to get there.
I already cast my absentee ballot, and I know countless others who have done the same. For the rest of you, go out and vote! Y'all know where my sympathies lie, but the important thing is to actually make it to your polling place and vote. Whatever your politics, whatever your issues, take your stand. It does matter; the last few races have been a testament to what a few thousand votes can do.
When I think about all that people have suffered in this country so that they could vote, it makes me feel like voting is not just my privilege, but my responsibility. As a woman, I have to recognize the long battle of the suffragettes who marched and were often arrested to have their voices heard. As a woman of color, I have to look at the struggles of African Americans who were disenfranchised first by slavery and then by Jim Crow laws that prevented them from exercising their legal rights. Theirs was a double struggle, and we should honor that as fellow minorities, by voting. Finally, as a Latina, I feel like it is important for me to vote because so many of my people cannot vote because of immigration issues or citizenship issues (not exactly the same thing). I vote for the millions who came before me who could not. I vote for the millions around me now who still cannot.

Besides, I'm ready for change. ¡Sí se puede!


Here, Ben and I demonstrate a little Democrat/Republican tension; though this is not our actual situation, I would like to say that I still talk to staunch Republicans on a daily basis, and they're not all bad people. ;) There's hope for bipartisan conversation!



Represent! Gotta give it to Obama's marketing team - Puerto Ricans love ANYTHING with our island and our flag on it. I begged for this shirt, folks. That is dedication!

Change

What. A. Day.

I will not go into details, but it started well, went downhill once I got home, took me to hell, and now I'm flying because of Barack Obama.

He makes me happy.

Yes, we can!

I was thinking last night of all I've seen in my twenty-five years:
Records, tapes, cds, and mp3s.
The birth of the Internet.
September 11th.
Wars.
Record high gas prices.
Leggings. Twice.
And now THIS: A Democratic primary between a Biracial man and a white woman. And then, my man Obama clinches the number of delegates necessary to win the nomination. Seriously amazing. Even more amazing than the return of the legging. ;)

Anyway, I'm happy about it. Happy birthday to me from the Democratic party!

Primaries

Hoy se vota en Puerto Rico. A todos los boricuas: ¡salgan a votar!

Come on Barack Obama!

home

Confession: I don't always love weekends.

I feel the need to leave more and more lately. There are two things I miss about living alone: freedom and privacy. I feel like I have neither lately. How long till August? *sigh* My parents are good people, really, they are. It's just that sometimes there's a bit too much drama from one end and the only way to appease her is for him to play along. And then no one is happy.

I have to report my whereabouts, I get calls when it's late, I get the 'You're going out with HIM?!' followed by a speech about said person's lack of husbandly qualities. Talk about jumping to conclusions! I've come to the point where I preface things with "Just to let you know," so that they're aware that I'm not asking for permission.

I just want a little breathing room sometimes. I hate having to justify where I'll be and what I'm doing. I mean, I'll be working out and it's: "You know, you should do some laundry." Right now? Really? This is when you have to bring it up?

Last night I went out to dinner and the G-F faculty vs. seniors basketball game with B. It was a fun time followed by a little wandering at Target. After that, I drove home and just wanted to collapse into bed with a movie and some quiet.

There was a student on my porch. Seriously. The house full of people eating everywhere, talking. I was up forever. Not to mention the weirdness of having X and his mom at my house seeing me in a completely different element: English, my space, my interests, no language lessons.

Today I've got a lot to do. I'm going to try to convince E. he wants to spend Monday with me, registering voters in Alexandria.... I really do want to find a more tangible way to support the Democratic campaign in general and Barack Obama in particular. Registering voters would be a cool thing, I think....

Political and disjointed

If you're not into politics, go ahead and skip over this one.
I've been thinking about this for a long time now and last night's primaries in WV kind of compelled me to put this out there.

Let's talk about the elephant in the room for a minute, shall we?

Race matters. It matters a lot and to a lot of people. This is not to say that we can't all get along or that we should segregate or whatever. We can have friends of different races and ethnicities and still be aware of those differences. We'd be lying if we said we weren't.

Mattering and discriminating are two different things, though, and I think both come into play in this long primary season. I think there's this deep fear in some parts of the country, in the hearts of many people of all races and ethnicities that a minority won't "make it" in the White House. Not necessarily that they won't make it IN, but that they won't do a fair job.

I keep hearing comments like this from coworkers here in liberal Northern VA, so I can only imagine what it's like in, say, Podunk, WV (not that I don't like WV - you know - it's wild and wonderful...) where people are a little more conservative.

But here's why I love me some Barack Obama:

I'm a brown woman. Bicultural, bilingual, not quite one thing and not quite the other. I have a sneaking suspicion he GETS that. You have to be black or brown or any shade of off-white to get what it's like to live that. Not that there aren't plenty of wonderful, compassionate, progressive Whites out there, just that they will never know what it's like to walk in another person's skin, in a different shade of skin. And that's okay.

That said, I think it's high time I had someone in government who could see things from a similar perspective. Someone who moves just as easily among mainstream White America as he/she does among minorities; someone who gets the nuances of representing an entire group of people; someone who can inspire us to be a more united and representative nation. There's a part of me, that idealistic part, that still believes in the democratic process and the beauty of representation, and I FEEL that from Barack Obama in a way that I don't feel it from Hilary Clinton.

This is a nation where if you are not White, you will always be an ethnic or racial label FIRST, hence this connection with the racial minority and not with the woman. Maybe I'm crazy, but this is what I'm feeling. I can get behind Obama's politics, I connect to what he's saying, and I know that he knows what life is like on the outside. That's important to me.
I can get behind Clinton's politics to an extent, but I don't connect to her the way I do with Obama. She doesn't get that outsider thing.

And it's the same way when it comes to Washington. Seriously, do I want a nineties flashback, a repeat of the GWB years, or something FRESH? I want a change. Someone who isn't dragging mid-nineties Washington baggage.

I think last night in WV proved that a lot of people aren't willing to look past what they know. Mejor es el diablo conocido - Better to deal with the evil we already know. At the same time, I believe there's a level of racial discrimination at play.... Ultimately, skin is skin. We all know this. But that skin is charged with so much meaning in this country and it's one of those status quo things that people just can't get past.

I pray that this country can come out of these racial and ethnic divides someday. I pray that we'll embrace our differences and forgive eachother for past mistakes. I pray that these elections and the shifting demographics don't serve to revive waves of supressed racial/ethnic issues.

I've been thinking a lot about racial reconciliation, lately, about how necessary it is, about how much I would like to be involved in that type of work.... I swear, I'm not militant. I just won't ignore this. I won't sit back and say that I don't see what I see or feel what I feel.

I've been out with men of other races and ethnic groups and been stared down. I've been called names and insulted. I've borne the burden of my people on my shoulders. I know that collective pain.

Ay, pero mi lindo Jesús, tú que tanto amas a tu pueblo, y a la nación que te ruega por guianza y ayuda, sana estas heridas. Trae una reconciliación, y recuérdanos que tú te manifiestas en la bella diversidad que has creado.

Obama...

I love the Spanish featured so prominently in it. :)

Potomac Tuesday

Eight years ago, on a day like today, I cast my first vote. I was seventeen, and was going to turn eighteen in time for the presidential elections, and was thus qualified to vote in the primaries. I remember going to the polling station with my mom and showing my license, then going into the booth and casting my vote.... I felt like an integral part of the democratic process.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm Latin: I understand corruption in ways that most Americans can't. I don't for a minute believe that the process is without flaw, but I still believe in the importance of participating. I believe in that moment of making a decision and standing for something you agree with. I cast my vote, and I cast my voice. This is what I believe. I believe that this person can represent my interests and the interests of the nation as a whole.
So I voted today, Potomac Tuesday, they called it. It was the day for the DMV's primary (for all those outside the region: D.C., Maryland, and Virginia) and I went, despite the fact that I'm in the process of moving, despite the fact that we were getting some freezing rain, despite the fact that I've lost my voice. I got my little sticker - a badge of honor - and went home feeling like a model citizen.
The funny thing, I remember how excited I was that first time, eight years ago, and I swear, I was just as excited this time around. It's always that exciting for me. It's that democratic process, that being a part of decision making, that I love.
The process and Obama.... ;)
Hope y'all voted....

Sí se puede

This made my day today:



I heart me some Barack Obama....

Mmm... Obama

So besides the fact that I have a serious crush on Barack Obama (the sexiness, people!), this speech is pretty brilliant.
Who else can't wait for 2008?!