TNG is taking a much needed break from Dec 19-Jan 4. TNG will return with new content on Jan 5. Until then, please enjoy this post from the past year. Original publish date: 11/7/2008.

Tuesday night was really cool. I had left the office early, feeling under the weather and having yet to vote. I made it to my polling place around 3:30 PM and, finding no lines, voted and got home by 3:45 PM. I fully expected to be in for the rest of the night. My boyfriend ate dinner and then turned on the radio to listen to the election coverage that started coming across around 8 PM. At 8:30, he made some motions to getting out of the house to meet a friend at a bar to watch the returns. Still feeling crappy, I opted out and chose to stay on the couch with NPR and online election coverage to keep me company. I put on the kettle and got prepared to have a hot toddie or two to help soothe my throat.

(Recipe: one shot of Jim Beam, the juice of one half lemon, one heaping spoon of honey all topped off with boiling hot water. Sip and enjoy.)

I knew that I was in for a fun night when I started hearing people cheering out their windows as states were called for Obama. As the evening progressed, the small shouts of joy blossomed into what sounded like whole rooms filled with revelers. When Pennsylvania was called, I could hear a series of joyful cheers that lasted for over five minutes, some near, some far, some solo and some in chorus. I stepped onto my balcony and watched as a neighbor walked to his window, screamed out of it, and then returned to his couch to watch as the good news continued to roll in.

At 11 PM, NPR (and everyone else) called it for Obama and it sounded like all hell was breaking loose outside my apartment windows. My boyfriend returned home shortly thereafter, and we decided we needed to go out and partake in this great celebration. We walked down 18th street in Adams Morgan to see the street blocked off and filled with revelers dancing, shouting, hugging, high-fiving and crying. There was a police car in the middle of the crowd that seemed to be blaring his siren in time with the gyrating bodies. We ended up meeting a friend at Duplex Diner where we had a celebratory shot and watched Barack’s acceptance speech. The whole restaurant erupted in cheers when he acknowledged us gay Americans:

It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled — Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

Not long after, we decided to call it a night and walked back up 18th street. The major party had died down a bit but there was still a lot of excitement in the air and tons of people in the streets. The BF and I walked holding hands, as we usually do, and were surprised when a black man who was standing outside Rumba Cafe yelled “gay or straight” at us, referencing Obama’s speach. I think we yelled back “Obama!!!” and continued on our way, smiling.

That was Tuesday night. We were all united in one big happy block party. What about today? And tomorrow? “Hope” and “Change” were talked about a lot in Obama’s campaign and I think a majority of the country was enchanted by such notions. And now that he’s won, we feel the hope. We want the change. But how?

I admit that things felt a bit different as I went about my day yesterday. I was kinda in love with everyone. The Asian lady at the register at the grocery store. The elderly black woman blocking the aisle with her granny cart. The middle eastern woman trying to squeeze past me at the bulk spices shelf. All these people of different origins in one store, and I felt some sort of connection with each of them.

We have hope. We will work for change. But will this hope cause the recent spate of gay-bashings die down? Will it get my boyfriend a job before his savings runs out? Will it prevent people in my neighborhood from throwing their plastic grocery bags on the sidewalk as they walk from Safeway past my apartment?

I’m very tempted to say that I’ve been working for change since I can remember. I’ve been doing my part to make the world a better place. And now it’s time for the rest of America to step up and join those of us who have been trying to move our society and our country forward. It’s about time, guys! Let’s get a move-on!

But that is obviously missing the point. We can only expect change if we are willing to live it ourselves, in our daily lives. And there are surely many more things that I can do to enable even more change in the world. I have to admit that I was inspired while watching a video on the Washington Post’s website about the revelry in the streets Tuesday night. In one of them, a man tells the camera that we all need to get to work, to make our country the best place in the world again. (Check out the video below.) He’s obviously not expecting Barack to show up at a picnic with a few loaves and fishes to feed the masses.

Perhaps this is Obama’s biggest challenge: Maintaining the euphoria of election night in the American consciousness. And finding ways that everyday Americans can indeed work for change in their everyday lives. I’m still thinking about what I can do. What about you?

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Video from the Washington Post showing people celebrating in the street at 14th and U Tuesday night.

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Hannah Friedman asks Obama to not break her heart, and includes my sentiment towards the end:

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