Obama Wins! Now what? A New American Revolution

I cannot describe the importance in my own heart and mind of Barack Obama winning this election. After years of what can only be described as Bush’s march toward fascism, a lightness has elevated our country over these last three weeks.

Condeleeza Rice described it in a news conference that she interrupted, "I have to say this: Something good has happened in America in this election!"

And Mr. Bush himself stated, "This is a historical moment in American history."

We as a nation are poised in a confluence of forces: We have a horrible set of circumstances we are faced with overcoming: two wars, horrendous costs of these illegal wars, a legacy from at least these past eight years with Bush & Co. of plundering our Treasury and economy for their greed and lust for power. It’s been a horrible example of leadership, and I for one am so very thankful that his reign of terror is coming to an end.

My friend and colleage in peace and justice, Craig Barnes, has written a wonderful piece that he has presented to several groups in New Mexico since the day after the election. Craig is especially insightful, being a former East-Asian negotiator with the State Department, an author of powerful books, and a playwright of "A Nation Deceived: Being a Complete Transcript of the Nation’s First Presidential Felony Trial in the Court of Common Opinion", on the trial and prosecution of George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld.

I’ve received Craig’s permission to post his talk in its entirety here, as well as provide you the link below to listen to Craig’s lyrical voice in giving this talk to an audience the day after the election.

Please check out Craig’s website, www.anationdeceived.org, and share in this joy that we all can appreciate in our new era of leadership here in America.

Our tasks are simple: find the wealth of activism, citizenship, love for our fellow Americans and citizens around the world as people, not as the hated and feared ‘Other’ as Bush was so fond of attempting to make us feel toward anyone different from ourselves.

Begin at home, by spending time with your loved ones in conversation, making bread, canning food, gardening vegetables and fruits.

Form cooperatives around everything: daycare, carpools, electicity combines, gardening, handyman work, food coops. Take the spirit of community back from the 60’s and 70’s and re-institute it today, with a new generation, a new spirit of working together.

Don’t wait for Mr Obama to take office. Our wealth doesn’t come from Wall Street, or Washington-Our wealth lies between us, in our relationships and communities. Take a Republican out for breakfast, and find out their hopes and dreams, and then work together to make them happen along with yours.

Don’t wait. Take charge of your own life and community now. Let’s never let it be said again that we are so complancent that we’ll allow anyone into the White House, whether they actually win the election or not.  We are the ones we’ve been waiting for! Let’s Go!