election eve

Tomorrow's the big day. And maybe, by Wednesday, we'll know who the next president of the United States will be. I voted absentee weeks ago, so this is weird. I won't have any first hand experience of the polls, of that energy - and in many places frustration due to long lines - of election day. I plan to listen to a lot of NPR, provided my co-workers don't object, and maybe people will come in to the farmstand wearing "I Voted" stickers. It will be interesting to hear what the customers might have to say.

But this isn't just interesting. This is big. But it's certainly not the end. It may be the end of the political tv watching season, but really, Wednesday is when the real things starts. When we know who the next president is, we can start making plans on how we, the people, are going to bring about the changes we want and need - what is and isn't possible, what strategies to use, what to prioritize. We can't lose our momentum but we need to stay and get organized because despite how big this is, so much of the struggle for a better America is fought and won on the ground. It's the fear of forgetting this, of believing that the president is everything, that has turned me off from the presidential campaign, that has prevented me from jumping on the Obama bandwagon of donating and volunteering. And this coming from someone who, after seeing Obama speak at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, suggested, "Obama for President 2008, anyone?" When I saw Obama in Boston in 2004, he excited me in a way none of the candidates had and I knew he would run for president someday but I never really thought in would be so soon. When I saw him in Iowa after he won the caucus in January and shook his hand, I was still unsure that this day would come. And here it is. If he wins, great, we'll celebrate. But we can't lose our momentum, that doesn't mean the battle is won and that we can stop. It means one door has opened but we've got to keep fighting to open more doors. And if he loses, I know I'll feel angered and frustrated and downtrodden. But that just means we have to try harder, we have to bring about more change from the bottom up. If McCain wins, I'll struggle to understand the meaning of America, the values of this population, the direction of this empire. But (and I say this mostly to my potential future self) we cannot let this beat us. Instead, let whatever the election results are be a starting point, inspiration out of anger and defeat or out of celebration and victory. It may go either way, but as far as I'm concerned, for the rest of us there is only one way to go, and that's forward.

So tomorrow we vote (if we haven't already). I got a phone call from the Northfield DFL the other day, reminding me to vote for all the democratic candidates, Obama, Franken, Sarvi, Bly. Listening to the message I thought to myself, "Well aren't I a good little Democrat, voting down the line like that." But the thing is, I didn't vote for those candidates just because of their party. I've heard each one of them speak, in person, at least once. I've followed Obama's campaign since before it was a campaign. I've talked to Steve Sarvi, donated money, time, even use of my car to his campaign. I didn't blindly vote along party lines - I voted for the candidates I liked best, because of who they were and who they weren't. And tomorrow I'll see if they win.