Change—Yes we can
The only superpower in the world and the oldest democracy—United States of America—made history on November 4 by electing its’ first ever African-American as its 44th President. Democratic candidate and Illinois Senator Barack Obama captured the White House by a landslide victory over Republican John McCain after a grueling campaign—the most intense and closely watched in recent memory. As America and the entire world lap in the celebration of a new US President, it is only appropriate to put on record—the great satisfaction of seeing this historic moment—for so many reasons—but more so because of this newspaper’s own belief in the triumph of the human spirit. Obama’s story of bringing change and the journey that has capitulated him into the US Presidency is truly inspiring—not only for the American people but also for the world. The simple yet profound message of “change—yes we can” is also something that has been very close to the heart of the Morung Express and continues to inspire us towards a better future—of a democratic spirit, personal integrity, civility, accountability in leadership and more importantly of consciousness of shared history and a common future.
The victory of Obama is made more remarkable by the nature of his win—a complete endorsement from every section of the American people. Among whites, he won over 40% of the votes, fewer than his rival John McCain, but the best showing of a Democratic candidate among whites in recent memory. The so called rainbow coalition of new America—the youths, women, people of mixed race, Hispanics, Latinos, African, Asian etc. backed Obama to the hilt. Another achievement of Obama was taking big wins in Republican strongholds such as Ohio, Virginia, Florida, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Iowa, Colorado, Nevada and Indiana. No wonder John McCain did not wait long to concede defeat. While Obama was able to invigorate his campaign with the message of change right until the end—yet one should not lose sight of his skilful art of coalition building, of reaching out to every section of the American people, of ending divisiveness, healing the past wounds and moving forward with new hope and courage. As compared to his rival, Obama’s campaign was a more inclusive one—which was successful in carrying the message of hope for all Americans—and at the end this broad-based support along with his message of change formulated his ascendency into the Presidency.
As one reflects on the phenomenal rise of an African-American to the highest (most powerful) office in America and indeed the world and not to forget the remarkable democratic process as practiced in the US—there are many valuable lessons to learn, many stories to share and the many inspiration that can also encourage us—to make the changes that we need—as did Obama’s America. As rightly pointed out by Obama himself in his victory speech—the change did not happen because of him alone but due to ordinary men and women who wanted to make things happen and in the process demonstrating the effectiveness of a political campaign that draws from a people centric bottoms-up approach. What is admirable about Obama’s win was that, to begin with, he was a coloured and therefore an odd candidate running for President. In the beginning there were not many endorsements or money. Yet he was able to rally people together in large numbers—the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized and proving the proverbial truth of Abraham Lincoln’s adage of a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Obama’s election to the White House is indeed historic, inspiring and a phenomenal achievement of the human spirit.
