when i was in first grade, i remember voting for clinton (let's be honest. elementary school students vote for whomever their parents are talking about most favorably. we're not that well informed. however, if i'd been 18 at the time, i totally would've voted for him in a real election, too.) in a mock election at school. the concept fascinated me: everyone should have a say in how things are run. i remember thinking, however briefly, that i would like to be the first woman president. i never thought i would see the day. even so young, i had the feeling we would always have rich white men running the country (thanks for making me a dirty hippie so young, mom and dad!)i remember the first time i actually got to vote, and how isolated and betrayed i felt when watching two presidential "elections" go so horribly wrong (which i intend to be more of a statement on the process, not the outcome. while i detest the 43rd president of the united states, i fully support the basic right of the nation to choose its leader).
i was in germany when the democratic candidate was selected, and i was convinced there was no way a black man could win the presidency. i was certain all was lost--without hillary, how could we avoid another republican candidate?
i was in germany when the democratic candidate was selected, and i was convinced there was no way a black man could win the presidency. i was certain all was lost--without hillary, how could we avoid another republican candidate?and yet...
i'm hopeful. i hope we have moved past the 1950s. i hope we have moved past selfishness. i hope we have moved past apathy. it terrifies me that at the end of this day the country of my birth will be sending a major message to the world, and i'm not confident yet of what that message will be. will we refuse to continue to be paralyzed by fear and hate? or will we say, no, thank you, but we won't take more of what we've seen in the last eight years, we'd like something new? 
i wish i could say all of this in non-partisan language. i wish i didn't constantly feel like i'm toeing the party line. my dad jokes that he raised us to think for ourselves, as long as those thoughts ended in us voting a straight party ticket. but the more i see of this world, the more i simply can't support the kinds of government the republican party now stands for. i can't support big business at the expense of the majority of the american public. if we really ignore all the campaign promises and the attack ads and get down to the root of it, that's what they stand for. that's how they behave. i believe in standing up for what's right, not what stands to make me the most profit.
i'm hopeful. i hope we have moved past the 1950s. i hope we have moved past selfishness. i hope we have moved past apathy. it terrifies me that at the end of this day the country of my birth will be sending a major message to the world, and i'm not confident yet of what that message will be. will we refuse to continue to be paralyzed by fear and hate? or will we say, no, thank you, but we won't take more of what we've seen in the last eight years, we'd like something new? 
i wish i could say all of this in non-partisan language. i wish i didn't constantly feel like i'm toeing the party line. my dad jokes that he raised us to think for ourselves, as long as those thoughts ended in us voting a straight party ticket. but the more i see of this world, the more i simply can't support the kinds of government the republican party now stands for. i can't support big business at the expense of the majority of the american public. if we really ignore all the campaign promises and the attack ads and get down to the root of it, that's what they stand for. that's how they behave. i believe in standing up for what's right, not what stands to make me the most profit.
i want my president to recognize those who are disenfranchized,
those who are in need,
to forge ahead into uncharted territory,
and to frankly address our shortcomings while remembering our strengths.i got this email today from a member of the quaker community in columbia. mostly i started this post with the desire to share these words:
This message is from Peter Storey, former Methodist Bishop of Johannesburg. He was also the chaplain at Robben Island Prison during the time Nelson Mandela was a prisoner. A good friend of mine’s father did a pulpit exchange with Peter years ago and they have remained friends. I met him many years ago when he came to South Carolina for a conference on race relations. Thought you would enjoy. --Julia
Subject: Our Prayers are with you all for tomorrow
Dear Friends in the United States,
Warmest greetings to you on this momentous evening. You have been much
in our minds and on our hearts over these past few months as we have
avidly followed the progress of your Presidential election campaign. As
we've said before, what happens in your election profoundly affects us
all.
And what a campaign! I recall a dinner table conversation in Atlanta way
back in May, 2007, in the home of good friends Jim and Fentress Waits.
Those around the table were talking with a deep sense of interest and
hope about an exciting young Senator named Barack Obama. Back then, the
possibility of Obama's even gaining the nomination of his own party
appeared so remote that it seemed more the stuff of dreams than reality.
Yet here you are, on the eve of an even more 'impossible' breakthrough
tomorrow! Think of it: the nation whose original sin was to to buy and
sell Africans like chattels, that legislated them less than human, could
well elect an African-American tomorrow to be its First Citizen! I
wonder if the people of the USA have fully realized what a liberating
moment this could be? For African Americans, who hold their breath, not
yet quite believing what might be possible tomorrow, this may be a step
beyond even what Martin Luther King Jr saw from the mountain-top, but it
is also more than that: it will be a day of liberation for all
Americans: whether deeply conscious, as so many thoughtful people are,
of this great burden of historic guilt, or defiantly denialist as too
many on the shrill right wing remain. All - the good, the bad and the
ugly - will take a giant step toward liberation from one of US
history's most burdensome shackles.
I say this because that is the experience we discovered the day Nelson
Mandela took the oath of office as the first black President of South
Africa. Millions of his exploited compatriots danced with obvious joy at
their new freedom, but less expected and perhaps more amazing was the
sense of liberation that came upon their erstwhile oppressors. White
South Africans testified in large numbers to a new lightness of being,
as if some invisible, dragging weight, was gone, and something new could
be born.
Now I know that the USA is not South Africa, and your story is not
identical with ours, but there are enough echoes for me to assure you
that if the voters of America break this barrier tomorrow, you will
experience what I'm talking about!
Of course, like so many of you, we are anxious as well as excited.
Having seen how deep are the currents of fear and prejudice that still
run across the length and breadth of the United States, we too hold our
breath. Be assured that the hopes of the vast majority of the people of
the wider world go with Senator Barack Obama. There is no question about
this. I doubt that even 5 percent of South Africans of any race group
have any desire to see anyone of George W Bush's party near the White
House. However, we have seen how easily US elections can be stolen and
we are praying, as so many of you are, that tomorrow, the American
people will march to the polls in greater numbers than ever before,
determined to expunge eight of the most shameful years in US history.
President Bush has brought America's reputation so low, that from our
point of view, another such blow from the US electorate would be almost
impossible to understand. Eight years of arrogance and ignorance hav
been done deep harm in the rest of the world and to the image of a great
nation. Surely they will be declared as enough by the people of the US?
But let us be hopeful! Just as tomorrow offers the opportunity for a
great sense of historic liberation in the US, so it also offers a chance
to radically alter the world's current perception of America, and to
open the door to new possibilities of healing and transformation for US
foreign relations. If Obama is announced as your President-elect, there
will be great rejoicing all around the globe. We will see new hope of
the might of the United States being bent to works of justice and
compassion and cooperation. We will see new possibilities for the poor
of the earth: for the first time, Americans will have elected someone
who knows what it is like to be on the outside as well as in the circle,
who has actually worked among the poor, who has lived , however briefly,
outside the American bubble, and who has the blood of the world's most
oppressed continent in his veins. Everyone of these factors speak of
change.
You will recall that the day following September 11, 2001, France's most
famous newspaper ran the headline: 'Today, we are all Americans!' Well,
please know that around the world there are so many people whose hopes
ride on what you will do tomorrow, that I guess we wish we were all
Americans! What a privilege it will be to vote in this election!
Our prayers are with you.
Warm regards,
Peter Storey
