A Great Time to be Alive!

I haven’t blogged in a while about the presidential election since all 160 kabillion other blogs have been writing about every single little thing that I possibly could.  Through this election season, we have seen lipstick on pigs, Joe Sixpack, Joe the Plumber, Jo Mama, Hockey Moms, That One, This One, The Other One, that scary guy Bill Ayers, that scary black guy Rev. Wright, the economic crisis, etc.

Throughout this incredibly bizarre period, more consequential things have been happening as well:

• A genuine grassroots movement for change has been building nationwide thanks to the brilliantly run campaign of Barack Obama
• The rightwing-controlled Republican party has been splintering, and its fascism disguised as patriotism and Christianity is now exposed for all to see in their last desperate attempts of keeping power
• Obama has awakened the sleeping majority, and those who still religiously follow the usual Republican okey-doke appear to be in the minority (at least I hope so)

November 4th could present an opening for a progressive majority of us to become community organizers, even if it’s not what we do for a living, and lift people up in our neighborhoods.  We can also have a much more participatory role in government and have a more consistently large role in affecting legislation.  Hey, if we can flood our representatives with phone calls and e-mails when Hank Paulson tried to push through his initial god-awful bailout plan, then imagine what we can do when it comes to positive, sensible legislation!

The effect that the power of the internet has had on this election cannot be overstated.  From fueling Obama’s record-breaking fundraising to quickly debunking and discrediting lies, the internet has filled in the reporting gap that the mainstream media has been lacking.  The technological tools that facilitate organizing for political and social change have paved the way for a new generation of activists.

All of this has been a beautiful thing to watch.

I’m also glad to see the intelligent, conservative intellectuals coming out of the woodwork and either endorsing Obama or at least jumping ship from the McCain campaign.  Despite the extreme backlash that many of them received (such as columnists Kathleen Parker and Christopher Buckley), I’m glad to see them publicly and courageously taking the path towards sanity.  Those are the true conservatives.  There’s nothing conservative about spending irresponsibly, giving the Executive Branch more sweeping powers, and shooting first and asking questions later.

Though McCain’s campaign has gotten unbelievably ugly with the robo-calls and the hatred and racism displayed at his rallies, it’s still a great time to be alive!  It looks like the real moral majority is winning, and we need to keep pushing until November 4th.  After that date, if Obama wins, then we still need to keep pushing.  The Republican Party will do everything it can to de-legitimize an Obama victory and undermine his presidency.

Just like many of us have helped him during his campaign, he will need that same level of dedication from us in order for him to govern properly.  We can’t just go back to our regularly scheduled lifestyles.  I don’t mean that we all need to be involved in progressive activism 24/7 or on a full-time basis, but we do need to pay closer attention and have a larger level of involvement.

If Obama is elected, then we will get a Rooseveltian New Deal of some sort, and we can help shape what that deal will be and how the next 25 years or so will look.

Again I say, this time period in history is a great time to be alive!