A Change Is Gonna Come: Election Day Open Thread
Alex, you beat me to the music post! But it looks like it'll go down
before we start getting results in, so I'm posting this anyway. ;)
Take a minute to remember where it all started with me.
This is a crucial element of my pre-voting soundtrack:
And why do we all do it? Two years of canvassing, donating, blogging, fundraising, calling, compulsive poll and news checking? Masochism? Maybe a little. :) Well, I think the Master says it best.
We do it because we do love this country. Because we can always be better. Because that's the spirit of this country that's been warped and distorted for the past 8 years. Besides, who can argue with a guy who sings about the beauty of this country more soulfully than any person who spent their life with sight? It's a beautiful morning here. Warm. Bright. I can't help but be reminded of that fateful day 7 years ago. When our President took the unity that tragedy brought, and wasted it away amidst a sea of lies and destruction. Today is a day where we can begin to redeem those dark days. We come to the end of a long journey now, but it only marks the beginning of the greater one before us. So get out there and vote, if you haven't already. Tell me your voting stories. Predictions. And personal soundtracks for the day. And then put that pot of coffee on tonight, and watch with me tonight as we watch our country wake up from history.
Take a minute to remember where it all started with me.
This is a crucial element of my pre-voting soundtrack:
And why do we all do it? Two years of canvassing, donating, blogging, fundraising, calling, compulsive poll and news checking? Masochism? Maybe a little. :) Well, I think the Master says it best.
We do it because we do love this country. Because we can always be better. Because that's the spirit of this country that's been warped and distorted for the past 8 years. Besides, who can argue with a guy who sings about the beauty of this country more soulfully than any person who spent their life with sight? It's a beautiful morning here. Warm. Bright. I can't help but be reminded of that fateful day 7 years ago. When our President took the unity that tragedy brought, and wasted it away amidst a sea of lies and destruction. Today is a day where we can begin to redeem those dark days. We come to the end of a long journey now, but it only marks the beginning of the greater one before us. So get out there and vote, if you haven't already. Tell me your voting stories. Predictions. And personal soundtracks for the day. And then put that pot of coffee on tonight, and watch with me tonight as we watch our country wake up from history.
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Thanks 99.... for Ray, but also for your last video, Jesus Jones.
"Right Here, Right Now" knocked the hell out of me when it came out, and I've never lost it. About the Fall of the Eastern Wall.
But all I ever think about when I hear it, is the Fall of the Western Wall. And today, I feel like every vote, funny enough, is someone removing another chunk from that miserable gray oppressive thing that's kept us cooped up. It's been there for 40 years, for me. From when they took down MLK and RFK. It's not guaranteed, but this time, there's hope.
I was alive and I waited, waited
I was alive and I waited for this
Right here, right now
There is no other place I want to be
Right here, right now
Watching the world wake up from history
November 4, 2008 11:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks Q. The Wall coming down is another one of those things that happened in my lifetime but seems more like a page out of a history book to me. I was only 8, and in the "what does this have to do with me?" phase. ;)
It was either that or another one I was thinking about today. Thinking about the space between when it was written and now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgECKj9LSH4
November 4, 2008 2:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
"I can't help but be reminded of that fateful day 7 years ago. When our President took the unity that tragedy brought, and wasted it away amidst a sea of lies and destruction. Today is a day where we can begin to redeem those dark days. We come to the end of a long journey now, but it only marks the beginning of the greater one before us".
I could not have said it better, I couldn't even come close, even though you took the thoughts right out of my head. You rock Hilary.
Bruce
November 4, 2008 11:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks Bruce. Means a lot, coming from you. ;)
November 4, 2008 2:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
P.S. Enjoy the non-cynical Bruce while you can; it won't last, but I'm in a zone today and it's a really good thing.
November 4, 2008 11:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm with you Bruce (as usual). As a New Yorker I'm sure you learned the same ABCs I did: A is for Apple, B is for Brooklyn, C is for Cynical. But today there is no bittersweet or cynicism - it's just joy and anticipation for taking back the country.
November 4, 2008 12:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
And D is for... DEEEEEE-LITE!!!!
Q is for qBootsy. HIT ME!
November 4, 2008 12:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Excellent! I am going to skip E, F, & G and had straight for H! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfl9Z-Pg9qw
November 4, 2008 12:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
OH Dij!!!! Say it ain't so.
November 4, 2008 2:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
How about this instead?
Toss me a cigarette, I think there's one in my raincoat
We smoked the last one an hour ago
So I looked at the scenery, she read her magazine
And the moon rose over an open field
"Kathy, I'm lost," I said, though I knew she was sleeping
I'm empty and aching and I don't know why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They've all gone to look for America
All gone to look for America
All gone to look for America
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n4TULPMEsU
November 4, 2008 2:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
I went to vote around lunchtime with my mom, my sister, and my son. No lines, pretty easy. Slight twinge of terror that the optical scan wouldn't count my vote. Other than that, no glitches.
My town in CT has a population of about 25,000. There are four polling places. At about 11:45, my vote was recorded in one of those as around the 2300th or so. With over 8 hours of voting to go, if that trend is the same across town, we're easily headed to record turnout. They're predicting 90% in CT. Craziness. I'm waiting for reports from my friends in PA. One in NYC said the lines were insane this morning.
On another note - my son has a speech disorder, so we mostly sign, and he has a couple words. He said "Obama" for the first time this week. I've been trying to get him to do it for a year.
November 4, 2008 2:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
I just came back from canvassing, yes, even on election day the GOTV was in full swing. There were people offering rides, baby sitting, to feed people, whatever they needed to get them to vote. The community organizer for the Obama campaign in my area is taking nothing for granted.
I am very, very excited for our country and the world today... I just can't put it into words.
I wrote to Senator Obama and asked him to run for president after the first time I saw him on Cspan a couple of years ago. I literally listened to him. I observed that he has rare innate leadership skills that gave him the potential to be an exceptional leader and as he spoke and revealed his wisdom and character I literally said 'I wish he was our president'. I went to my computer and wrote to him via his senate website and asked him to run. I told him 'I am a 42 yr old white woman in Boulder, CO and I want you to be our president. If you run, I will work for you.'
All along the way I had so many people tell me that he could not win or that the country wasn't ready for such an evolved leader. Even before I ever heard Senator Obama say 'yes we can' I said 'yes we can' elect this man president. 'It is possible'. I am so grateful that so many of us feel similarly about Senator Obama. I am so grateful for that! What is happening is just amazing!
November 4, 2008 7:08 PM | Reply | Permalink