. . . or do I mean U.S.? Today marks the first anniversary of Barack Obama's election to the presidency of the United States.
In that year the initial euphoria of many voters has ebbed away. We've discovered that Obama can't walk on water after all. He can't solve all our problems in a mere twelve months. After all, it took a good eight years for us to get into the fix we're in. On the other hand, he won the Nobel Peace Prize, an honor at any age or stage in one's life. But astounding for a sitting American president in his first year in office.
I constantly remind myself that the most important lesson from Obama's election is that it was the result of ordinary people all over the country deciding they wanted a change and then organizing and working to make that change happen. Real change always comes from the bottom — the people — and not the leaders. And nowhere is that more true than here in the U.S.
When I feel like nothing ever really changes, I don't have far to look to know that's not true. When I was in high school there was no Title IX creating parity in women's sports. Heck, there were no women's sports! As for careers, it was pretty much teacher or nurse if you were a woman. When I graduated and went job-hunting, the employment ads were broken down by gender. No women need apply!
Look around yourself and then tell me nothing ever changes. Women demanded changes in their lives, and jobs and made them happen in personal as well as legislative fashion. The LGBTQ, the African-American, American Indian, environmental, the you-name-it-communities have all made change happen in the same way: by going out and doing it themselves.
Merely by electing Obama, we said that this nation is willing to try to change. I think that alone is worth celebrating. And the President has picked the perfect place to celebrate this election anniversary: He's coming to Madison today! So don't look for us in the garden; we're taking to the streets.
