Sorry about the terrible audio quality but I posted it just you could see my immediate reaction. Here is a transcript of what I said in case you missed anything:
with all that sentiment and heartfelt emotion, I of course had to end on an incredibly crass note. I must really apologize for the rambling, incoherent nature of the video but as my voice clearly reveals (and what the terrible camera quality doesn’t reveal about by eyes), I was dangerously close to breaking into either tears or joyous song. Hell I still am. For me this election is incredibly monumental for many reasons, some of which I shared in the video. But if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to illustrate one of the reasons which I didn’t cover in the video. It is becoming increasingly clear that young voters played an enormous role in Obama’s electoral victory. This to me is the first major sign of the new generation inheriting “the mantle” from the baby boomer and pre-war generation. Throughout my life and education I have been repeatedly told that my fellows and I are the future, that we will shape the world’s coming destiny. Apparently the future is now. The day has come for us to become the shepherds of human civilization and to carry its brightly burning torch into the still unilluminated decades to come. Perhaps the paradigm has shifted, I hope for the sake of all humanity that this is so. We have lived in the old world for far too long. I’m sick of dealing with its legacies.
In less ethereal terms this election has begun to exorcise several demons which continue to haunt American politics and society. It has forced the Republicans to re-assess their own party and hopefully finally rid themselves of the legacy of the Cold War and the Reganites’ choke hold on power. Along with them perhaps they’ll sap the power of the so called “moral majority” (see: a small group of bigots and religious zealots which have hijacked American political and social discourse). It has eradicated the ultimate glass ceiling for the African American community. A community which has endured apartheid, widespread racism and physical repression. They are now faced with the liberating and challenging truth that the America which forced them to endure all of that pain is rapidly disappearing and the old scapegoats can no longer be used to explain their social ills. Change has indeed come, but it is a double edged sword. This election has also challenged widespread voter apathy and cynicism in America. People have once again become in engaged in democracy. One of the single greatest products of human civilization. The American people have also begun to slowly realize that the idea of American exceptionalism no longer holds water in this increasingly global and integrated world. Years of unilateralism and Republican mismanagement has provided the n ation this startling wake up call. Personally, I’m just glad to once again see glimmers of the America I once called friend. I really have missed you guys.. I could keep going but in all honesty, I’m already tearing up again, so I’ll end by saying simply…for the first time in a long time, the world isn’t so dark and chaotic. And no matter how short lived, I have hope.
