What Obama Means to Me

I was talking with a friend who is about 15 years older than me, and she asked me what I think of my generation. I said, I think my generation has amazing potential for healing our world, but we were raised in a numbing environment, so for a lot of us, that is what we know. Many of my peers were raised by baby sitters and day cares, cable tv and McDonalds. Many of my peers have divorced parents. My generation (generation Y I guess?) was the first to live and be raised in this way. I think light comes from darkness. I think working through darkness brings empowerment and healing.

Hip hop music at its core is a peaceful refutation of systematic oppression. Black Americans have a history of having core identity repressed. One reaction to this was gang systems, which represent a reclaiming of that core identity and independence from the oppressor. Where it got interesting though is when in the 1970's oppressed people turned on each other. It's been awhile since I've read Can't Stop Won't Stop but the main idea is somewhere in the 70's in the south bronx amidst corrupt landlords burning buildings and violence to each other, people started realizing they could gain empowerment through creative expression. Instead of fighting with guns, people 'battled' with creative expression. Who had the better tag, the better dance, whatever. That's what hip hop represents for me--core identity oppression being owned and transformed through love and creative energy into core identity empowerment. Darkness can always be transcended. Not to say we should discredit darkness. It gives us our power. We cannot see what we want without seeing what we don't want. This is why George W. Bush and Dick Cheney have been some of our most powerful spiritual teachers.

To me, if we vote for Obama, it means we have learned our lesson. Also, for me it marks an awakening for my generation. I think many of us have been asleep and I sensed the electricity through college as we felt the war starting and protested it, when we saw the pictures of prisoners at abu gharib and felt sick inside. The defeat we felt when Kerry won the popular vote in 2004 but Bush's reign continued regardless. I felt more and more people sensing the craziness of what was happening. We felt helpless. I saw many of my generation numb, still, but I do sense the change.

I think Obama's record breaking campaign is the most inspiring aspect of this campaign whether he wins or not. People donated and volunteered time at record rates. We don't want to feel helpless anymore, he is allowing us to participate. This alone to me means we are ready to take ownership of the healing of our world. The darkness of my generation is that we are asleep amidst a world that is hurting, the light is we will awaken to our hurting world and heal it. And you know, I think this election is the first time I have ever felt patriotic. Obama wants us to work together to fix things. Patriotism doesn't only mean fighting in the armed forces, it means volunteering time to help in our communities, it means being a peace corps member and travel around the world to help those in need. As the economy falters, we will learn how little being greedy elevates us and how much being selfless does.

Obama, to me, doesn't represent one man who will change everything. He represents our power to rally together, wake up, rise up, and change things ourselves. This is something we have been wanting for eight years and through his campaign alone he has helped facilitate this. We are all one. I encourage you on this election day to take a moment to reflect how you want to help contribute to the healing of our world.

Let us elevate ourselves, our hearts, as we move into a world of one love.