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Friends,
Who among us is not at a loss for words? Tears pour out.
Tears of joy. Tears of relief. A stunning, whopping landslide of hope in a
time of deep despair.
In a nation that was founded on genocide and
then built on the backs of slaves, it was an unexpected moment, shocking in
its simplicity: Barack Obama, a good man, a black man, said he would bring
change to Washington, and the majority of the country liked that idea. The
racists were present throughout the campaign and in the voting booth.
But they are no longer the majority, and we will see their flame of hate
fizzle out in our lifetime.
There was another important "first" last
night. Never before in our history has an avowed anti-war candidate been
elected president during a time of war. I hope President-elect Obama
remembers that as he considers expanding the war in Afghanistan. The faith
we now have will be lost if he forgets the main issue on which he beat his
fellow Dems in the primaries and then a great war hero in the general
election: The people of America are tired of war. Sick and tired. And
their voice was loud and clear yesterday.
It's been an inexcusable 44
years since a Democrat running for president has received even just 51% of
the vote. That's because most Americans haven't really liked the Democrats.
They see them as rarely having the guts to get the job done or stand up for
the working people they say they support. Well, here's their chance. It has
been handed to them, via the voting public, in the form of a man who is
not a party hack, not a set-for-life Beltway bureaucrat. Will he now
become one of them, or will he force them to be more like him? We pray
for the latter.
But today we celebrate this triumph of decency over
personal attack, of peace over war, of intelligence over a belief that Adam
and Eve rode around on dinosaurs just 6,000 years ago. What will it be like
to have a smart president? Science, banished for eight years, will
return. Imagine supporting our country's greatest minds as they seek to
cure illness, discover new forms of energy, and work to save the planet. I
know, pinch me.
We may, just possibly, also see a time of refreshing
openness, enlightenment and creativity. The arts and the artists will not be
seen as the enemy. Perhaps art will be explored in order to discover the
greater truths. When FDR was ushered in with his landslide in 1932, what
followed was Frank Capra and Preston Sturgis, Woody Guthrie and John
Steinbeck, Dorothea Lange and Orson Welles. All week long I have been
inundated with media asking me, "gee, Mike, what will you do now that Bush
is gone?" Are they kidding? What will it be like to work and create in an
environment that nurtures and supports film and the arts, science and
invention, and the freedom to be whatever you want to be? Watch a thousand
flowers bloom! We've entered a new era, and if I could sum up our collective
first thought of this new era, it is this: Anything Is Possible.
An
African American has been elected President of the United States! Anything
is possible! We can wrestle our economy out of the hands of the reckless
rich and return it to the people. Anything is possible! Every citizen can be
guaranteed health care. Anything is possible! We can stop melting the polar
ice caps. Anything is possible! Those who have committed war crimes will be
brought to justice. Anything is possible.
We really don't have much
time. There is big work to do. But this is the week for all of us to revel
in this great moment. Be humble about it. Do not treat the Republicans in
your life the way they have treated you the past eight years. Show them the
grace and goodness that Barack Obama exuded throughout the campaign. Though
called every name in the book, he refused to lower himself to the gutter and
sling the mud back. Can we follow his example? I know, it will be
hard.
I want to thank everyone who gave of their time and resources to
make this victory happen. It's been a long road, and huge damage has been
done to this great country, not to mention to many of you who have lost
your jobs, gone bankrupt from medical bills, or suffered through a loved one
being shipped off to Iraq. We will now work to repair this damage, and it
won't be easy.
But what a way to start! Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th
President of the United States. Wow. Seriously,
wow.
Yours, Michael Moore MichaelMoore.<WBR>com |
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