By M.K.

As an 18 year-old who voted for the first time in November’s election, I share the country’s excitement over about Barack Obama’s historic election, but am apprehensive about whether this moment’s potential will be fully realized. To me, part of the significance of Obama’s election lies in the energy and grassroots work of the people involved in his campaign, particularly young people. In 2008, many youth who were not previously politically involved latched onto Obama’s call for change and went door-to-door, volunteered at call centers, and more. Youth also voted in higher numbers than in 2004. In that, I feel, lies the real potential for change in this election.

As a politician, Barack Obama is supposed to be accountable to the people he serves as president. He was elected largely because people felt that he represented values and political ideas that they agreed with, and if that connection can be maintained throughout his presidency, it will have a true impact on the way that politics in the United States are conducted. It is up to the people who got Obama elected – working citizens who form the bottom line of a democracy – to continue to keep Obama accountable to the ideals that he represented in his campaign. This in particular includes the youth who became politically engaged for the first time during Obama’s campaign, whether that meant volunteering for the campaign or simply voting for the first time. If that demographic continues to be politically active, then Obama’s election will have a much deeper and longer lasting effect. If that demographic is allowed or encouraged by the media to think that their involvement is over, and that Obama will simply take care of everything once he is in office, much of the energy and the true potential encompassed by Obama’s campaign will be lost.

Although we live in a self-proclaimed democracy, we must question what the idea of democracy really means. Are we a democracy if civic participation is limited to simply voting once every four years? Or would we like to see a society more fully engaged with its politics, more participatory and based in grassroots issues? I personally feel that if we could hold our political leaders closer to such grassroots ideals of democracy, we could make real changes in our country, changes based on what the people really want and need rather than on what corporate powers and banks request. Especially in the wake of the economic crisis, as we observe Wall Street banks being handed money with almost no regulation, while the working class of Main Street struggle to maintain their quality of life, it is poignant to consider what this country could be like if politicians were more immediately accountable to a vocal, opinionated, and active public.

Civic participation is not something that can be spontaneously generated. The momentum of Obama’s campaign has been recognized as unique and valuable. If we can maintain that momentum, we have a chance of perpetuating a culture of civic participation. Given that many of the people who volunteered for Obama’s campaign were college students and other young people, if they continue to stay politically engaged, it is likely that their children will grow up with a more advanced example of civic participation than they did. The current political moment offers the opportunity to grow the seeds that Obama’s campaign planted, and if we ignore it, we risk not only a less effective Obama presidency, but also future elections that herald back to what happened in 2004.

As we enter 2009 and as we anticipate Obama’s inauguration in January, my hope lies less with Obama than it does with the kind of movement that put him in office. If we can begin to create that culture of grassroots political activity that will hold politicians accountable and guide their policies toward the ideals of the country’s citizens (those who are not millionaires or corporate CEOs), this election will have an impact that reaches much farther than whatever actions Obama takes in office. It will move us towards ideals that I think many Americans feel are currently empty talk – democracy, civic participation, and real change. Youth should continue to stay engaged and involved, and community organizations should be conscious in reaching out to those youth and offering them the resources they need to be politically active. If that happens, the country will be able to realize a truer form of democracy, and it will be able to embrace the deeper resonance of Obama’s campaign and election.

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Nodutdol eNews is the monthly e-mail newsletter of Nodutdol.Through grassroots organization and community development, Nodutdol seeks to bridge divisions created by war, nation, gender, sexual orientation, language, classes and generation among Koreans and to empower our community to address the injustice we and other people of color face here and abroad. Nodutdol works in collaboration with other progressive organizations locally, nationally and internationally as part of a larger movement for peace and social change.

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