When Fox News called the state of Virginia for Barack Obama around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, it became apparent that when the clock struck 11, Barack Hussein Obama, the bi-racial, Hawaiian, Junior Democratic Senator from Illinois would become the 44th President of the United States. At the time, I was in charge of running the green screen map for JumboCast, and I broke the night's protocol in order to turn Virginia blue. That action led to a frantic countdown to 11 p.m., when California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii, were going to make Obama the president-elect. With Obama's election guaranteed, the final minute resembled a New Year's-style countdown.
After the initial wave of pandemonium settled down and JumboCast had wrapped up the webcast, for some reason I thought about the events of Sept. 11,, 2001. The night had been the most vividly memorable historic event I had been through since the horror of Sept. 11. In a strange way, there are many similarities between the events that occurred on these two Tuesdays just over seven years apart.
The response to both of these events, revealed the best aspects of American society. In the days following Sept. 11, our country had a truly patriotic feeling, and we saw the best actions when we put aside our differences and worked together as a community. We were all clearly Americans, and we had the sympathy of the world. On Nov. 4, there were record numbers of Americans waiting in lines for hours to cast their ballots, another great patriotic act. What is a better way show your love for your country than to vote? It did not matter who they were casting their ballots for, but their act of voting showed the best of America.
These two days also showed the country the benefits of true leadership. Then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R-N.Y.) and President George W. Bush did a great job as leaders in the days immediately following Sept. 11 (before it became a punch line). Both Obama and Sen. John McCain stepped up and gave great speeches that will help bring our country together behind President-Elect Obama. Even though Obama won an electoral landslide, one must remember that just under half of America went to the polls and did not cast their ballot for him. A true leader should be able to bring the entire nation into the fold, creating a true American spirit that will provide a guiding light for the world.
But the true impact of Nov. 4, just like Sept. 11, will be the way in which it affects the future. Sept.11 guided the past seven years of American foreign policy into conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. These conflicts have damaged America's image in the world and have led to the loss of thousands of American lives and countless -- possibly millions -- civilians in those countries. Today, America has a chance to reestablish herself in the world community as a tolerant nation where anything is possible. The election of Obama is the perfect example of this ideal.
Now, the million-dollar question is: How is Barack Obama going to handle this situation? Your guess is probably as good as mine, but hopefully Obama will take advantage of this golden opportunity to redefine America after the past seven years. Obama used to center his speeches on the idea of the "fierce of urgency of now." While he dropped that slogan from the campaign due to its connection to Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the slogan captures what Obama needs to do in the world when he takes office in January. Change is not going to be rapid, but our country is setting sail on a course different from the post-Sept. 11 world for the first time.
Nov. 4 will go down in the history books, not just as the day that America elected its first African-American president, but also as the end of the national-security era in American politics. I would be ignorant to say that national security will not matter again, but it is clear that economic concerns have replaced security ones as first priority for Americans. That era will be dated from Sept. 11 to Nov. 4. It is so encouraging to see people moving past their fears and voting on what truly affects their day-to-day living.
As a last thought, I bet that almost all of you remember exactly where you were when you first heard that planes had hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. I vividly recall being misinformed by a Hebrew teacher who spoke very rough English that the Twin Cities had been attacked. Until I went online a few minutes later to disprove her story, I did not comprehend the magnitude of what was going on in New York City. The night of Nov. 4 will be remembered just as vividly, albeit in a different light. Instead of images of collapsing buildings, let us hope that the cheering crowds across our great country are signs of a better tomorrow and not of the past seven years.
--Seth Rau is a freshman majoring in International Relations
