Be the Change.

I spent 5 hours at Grant Park in Chicago last night at the Obama election night rally, waiting and watching and cheering with a quarter million others.  My voice is hoarse from the jubilee, my heart is remarkably light and, with my eye on my many communities, I can see clearly the work I have ahead of me.  Not since the RNC protest in NYC a few years back have I felt this good about being in solidarity with an enormous crowd.  Through the crisp autumn air, the giant reverberations of Obama’s speech electrified the atmosphere and ushered in a sort of awakening within us.  We went in confident and spirited and came out renewed and inspired, with much hope for overcoming the many dark sides of our United States.  I think for possibly the first time in my life, I felt a very distinct pride in both myself and my fellow americans.  And a deep respect for the candidate I voted for, which is definitely a first.

I’m not sure if you all felt different today, I certainly did. As I drove myself from one school to another down a decidedly forgotten portion of town, I watched how people were nearly swaggering along the city streets, how their usually aggressive body language had relaxed a bit, how many were smiling instead of scowling.  Then I realized that it may not actually be the world which has changed overnight– it must have been me and my perspective of scenes I’ve viewed so often that I have them memorized.  The change Obama is talking about must first come from within each and every one of us, but we also must desire that change.  Apparently, I do. I find myself looking at my world differently now, not as guardedly as city living tends to dictate, but without doubt that, somehow, we can all make our shared space better for what little, yet generous, time we have here together.  As we all witnessed on election night, the impact of one individual is quite profound.

My newest adventure involves co-teaching sixty-six 4th graders about screenprinting, the rise of mass media, the role of propaganda and workers’ rights, specifically child labor.  It is an extensive and ambitious exercise in teaching social justice with many stumbling blocks to overcome and only half the funding necessary.  As usual, I will have to get “extra-creative.”  Today we looked at WWII-era US propaganda posters and came to the iconic and handsome Rosie the Riveter who firmly states: “We Can Do It!”  Though it was truly an unwitting reference, these kids, who live in Obama’s Hyde Park neighborhood and are incredibly excited about the election results and their souvenir Obama t-shirts, immediately understood the connection between Rosie and Barack’s messages.  Further into the project, the kids will learn all about the phrase coined by César Chavez in his work with the United Farm Workers: “¡Sí se Puede!” or “Yes, We Can!”  The message is the motivation, the spirit is innate and the world is most definitely watching.

No matter how (or if) you voted, it is probable that we all voted with a certain amount of self-protection in mind.  Like/unlike many americans, I have no 401k to protect (by default), no health insurance (by choice) and, as an artist AND teacher, nothing more to lose.  This is the first presidential election in which I have had the opportunity to vote for a candidate instead of voting one way because I am against the other.  This time, I am proud to have voted my conscience, with hope in heart and fuller steam ahead.

Like it or not, this is a time for change, we are in desperate need an advocate, a symbol of possibility, a leader whose mere presence in the white house shows us how far we’ve come and still how much farther we have to go.  We deserve an extraordinary president, not a dim bulb.  Obama has promised us many things, much like anyone campaigning, and we must hold him accountable for his actions on our behalf.  Likewise, if we are to heal our divisions and offenses both inside and out of our country, he must hold us accountable for doing good work for the benefit of the whole.  There is no more space for the President nor the People to let one another down anymore.

All of this is why I am going to try my damnedest, no matter how much more strife is ahead, to be the change which I seek.