The race is over, but the work has just begun.
Barack Obama was elected as the next president of the United States Tuesday after achieving a landslide victory in the Electoral College. Obama has instilled confidence in the American people that we can rebuild a system bogged down by cynicism, and his victory stands as an opportunity to mend our relationships around the world and with each other.
In his Oct. 30 speech, Obama said his campaign, “grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy.” But it was Obama’s campaign that energized American youth to shake off apathy and become a powerful force in this election.
As he spoke to a huge crowd in Chicago, Obama touched on the significance of the United States electing its first black president. But while he acknowledged the achievement of black Americans, his campaign has included whites and other minorities. He has invigorated young people without alienating the elderly. He has championed the Democratic Party, but reached out to Republicans.
Sen. John McCain, in probably his best speech of this election, gave disappointed Republicans good advice when he said: “It’s natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again.”
The United States has the unique chance to come together, after years of partisan politics and factional bickering that has left us more divided. With only 34 percent of Utah voters supporting Obama, Utah has no shortage of those reeling from disappointment. But no matter which party we belong to, now is the time to work together and compromise. As both candidates suggested, it is time for us to get back to work.
We urge the young voters who drove Obama’s campaign to remain active after the fanfare has faded. We encourage all voters who were captivated by the excitement of this historic election to maintain their zeal after the excitement is gone and the real work sets in.
As Obama said near the end of his speech, “This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.”
Willus Branham