A Bit Late....But YES WE DID.

All this talk about the election made even self proclaimed political nerds like myself tired and exhausted from the long election season. Nevertheless, I saw something that I have never seen in my peers before. I know, I know...you are thinking. NO WAY, a college student at the University of Wisconsin ("the hotbed of liberalism" as my conservative relatives call it) noticed people were inspired by this historic election?! I just don't believe it. Well, "my friends", believe it. Young people cared. Young people cared so much they cried when a president they could be proud of addressed our nation as our "President Elect". Young people cared so much, we gathered a crowd of 10,000 chanting "USA, USA, USA", singing the national anthem, and chanting "¡Sí, se puede!", stopping traffic in the streets of Downtown Madison. I have never felt comfortable expressing national pride, I always felt it was arrogant, and grandiose. It was the first time in my 19 years of life that I was so inexplicably happy and overjoyed, nothing expressed how I felt better than the elated chants of "USA, USA, USA" along with thousands of my peers. I turned to my friend, we both smiled, and I said "This is straight up 'Viva la revolución shit, and we are here to celebrate it.'" I have never felt the joy and pride that I have that night. I felt that joy and pride because I am from the United States of America. I will be abroad next year in Madrid, Spain boasting about having, arguably, one of the coolest nation leaders in the world. Everyone was inspired. Republicans, Democrats, the never wavering Nader supporters, the anarchists, the socialists, the libertarians, the moderates. Everyone had an opinion, and I'm proud to say a large majority of them were informed. Friends who were torn between the views of their family and their friends, friends who expressed nothing but apathy toward politics, friends who swore they would never vote "because it wouldn't matter anyway", friends who were overwhelmed by the Obama supporters of Madison, but never ceased to support their belief in McCain to run our country, homeless people of madison wearing Obama stickers, College Republicans gathering in Library Mall, and non- partisan efforts to GOTV, each and every individual was inspired. It wasn't the media that energized us. It was ourselves. It was the boy in my communications class who proudly wears his "Veteran for Peace" button, it was the perspective I gained from my friend who had a sister in Iraq. And so, I leave you with pictures from a night that no one on this campus will ever forget:

And, in the words of Sam Cooke: " It's been a long, a long time coming, but I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will."