Rise up, discouraged youth! Today is our day! Seize the moment! With one stroke of the pen, our generation can make our voices heard and ensure a better future. One penstroke has the power to oil the long-frozen gears of progress and accelerate the evolution of civilization.
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008. A historic day is upon us. The citizens of the United States of America have been given an opportunity that must not be wasted. The choice has been put in our hands. We can choose to break from the path of unresponsive government. We can choose to eradicate the existence of an executive branch powered by the motivations of self-centered interest groups and lobbyists. Our minds have been clouded and our hearts have been discouraged for far too long. We can change all of this today, right here, right now, with one fell swoop of the pen.
Now is the time to inject new, rational ideas into a White House that has turned a deaf ear to the cries of progress. Cast aside the trivialities that fill the average weekday and take the time to make your voice heard. We are living in a historic moment, one that must not be taken for granted.
Bear the long lines at the voting stations. History will not remember the two hours it took for each ballot to be cast, but it will remember the final outcome. Is it too much to ask of this generation to think beyond the scope of our individualized concerns and come together for the benefit of the common good?
This is our moment. The generation of the 1940s oiled the gears of progress when it rose up to defeat the evils of fascism. The generation of the 60s and 70s banded together to protest the tragic consequences of a misguided war. What will history say about our generation when we were presented with the opportunity to take action and stand together for a cause that transcends all others?
Abraham Lincoln once said that any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable - a most-sacred right - a right, which we hope and believe, is to liberate the world.""
We have been given the power. We have been given the right. We have seen the inadequacies of an executive branch that defies logic for the sake of personal interests. A new solution has been given to us. A solution that suits us better. A solution that will undoubtedly liberate the world from the chains of unilateral decision-making. The question is whether or not we will exercise this most sacred right and take advantage of the moment that lies before us. I believe we can.
The educated youth of this country have shown where their allegiance lies. It is now our responsibility to make that allegiance known through the tallying of ballots. Let each vote strike forth like a blade upon the fabric of a broken presidential system that threatens to extend its grip on history. Relinquish this grip. Tear apart this fabric that has shielded us from the light for the past eight years. Inject the bright glow of wisdom into the Oval Office. Elect Barack Obama.
Tom Hart is a senior majoring in political science and history. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
