Americans desire the thought of unity. We seek it, nurture it, and can’t live without it.
Whenever there has been tragedy in our history, we unite. We band together in candlelight vigils, hopeful organizations and miles of motivation to continue on pursuing unity.
During these times, we want to show off to the world that we can become one country intolerant of racism, sexism and hate towards one another. It’s an optimistic view of us.
The profound note to Americans is for some reason it takes devastation, utter realization of weakness and shattering of hope to come across the idea of unification.
We unite in circumstances like 9/11, Katrina, and regret for supporting a war in Iraq that claimed the lives of thousands of soldiers. The list of tragic events interminably continues in our history books. We have a record for coming together when we have hit the lowest moment of despair.
The last eight years have been’ a resum’eacute; of regret, which is why Americans were ready for a change. We fell to the bottom, reached for hope and along the way we elected our symbol of unity.
It took one eloquent man who spoke of hope all throughout his campaign to join together a sea of people to witness his nomination, victory and inauguration.
Yes, people of prior generations are used to following this ritual of presidential elections, but to watch the future of this country, like students at CSUN, be deeply moved by this one man and his campaign is enough to call this unification the one of our lifetime.’
Of course, Americans unite for positive occurrences, as well. The 2008 Olympics, Super Bowl Sunday and many other sporting events that get our blood pumping qualify for positive unification. Yet, rallying for President Barack Obama, wearing a shirt with his face and engaging in political arguments with the opposing party was the unifying impact this election had for young people.
Young voter turnout first increased in 2004 and 2006, and skeptics were resistant to think that the momentum would continue into 2008. By the time the presidential primaries were over in 2008, the percentage of young voters was up by 103, more than in any of the previous primary elections, according to the Rock the Vote Web site.
Young Americans across this nation were ready for this change and embraced the thought to join together. As Americans of any age, we were all enthused by Obama’s speeches. He called for a ‘new era of responsibility,” and said the time has come for the United States to ‘renew its spirit’ and reaffirm ‘the promise of this nation.’
Obama articulated what was on all our minds. His ability to reach out and instill this faith for change gravitated all of us towards his cause. He became the icon of unity, the celebrity for hope and the man that expressed perseverance in a time where the recession is taking our nation in a downward spiral.’
Jan. 20, the day of his inauguration, an estimated crowd of more than 1 million people gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and an estimated 1 billion others watched on TV around the globe. The air was frigid, but that didn’t stop people from coming together to witness a moment in history. On a day that was suspected to have been cloudy, even the sun came out to witness such an event.
Despite their race, gender, sexual orientation, or where they gravitate to on the political spectrum, people unified in hopes of change. Now Obama has to prove to the nation in which he has enthused such hope.
No matter what happens, unity is the great need of this moment. Not because it sounds lovely or makes us feel good, but because it’s the only way we can prevail over the essential deficit that existing in this country.
