Robi Ganguly’s Big Ideas

I’ve always wanted to do a road trip across the United States of America. Tomorrow, I’m finally going to get the chance to do so. My girlfriend, Katie, and I are setting off tomorrow from her family’s home in Sarasota, FL and we’ll be on the road for a little over a week before coming to a rest in Seattle, WA. I’m pretty excited about driving through a large swath of the Southern part of the United States and getting a small chance to see what it’s like. If you’ve got any recommendations for stops we might want to make along the way, please let me know. Our route currently looks like this, but we might make some detours for compelling reasons

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I’ve been writing on my blog about today’s election and the nature of politics for over a year now. One of my earliest posts was one called, “This is What Politics Looks in America Looks Like Today.” I discussed how difficult it is being a politician in the United States today and how my childhood ambitions to become President had been squashed by the viciousness of the political process.

I sit here in Las Vegas, NV, volunteering for the Obama campaign and I can say something that astonishes me: Barack Obama has changed my mind. His campaign has made me think differently about politics and my own future.

I consider a few things in thinking about this:

• The news media of our country makes it hard to communicate nuanced and complicated arguments to the population.
• The majority of people don’t have the time or interest to sift through the noise, lies and attacks that are typical of political campaigns.
• The reality is that many people vote on single issues and are susceptible to a political environment that dampens dialogue and increases anger, frustration and division.

Despite this situation, Obama and his campaign have managed to run on a platform of positive change and unity. Defying the pundits and my own skepticism, he has motivated not just thousands, but HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of people to volunteer and to donate… to ACT.

It’s estimated that the Obama campaign has over a MILLION volunteers today, Election Day. That’s simply amazing.

THIS is what we need in this country. We need leaders who show us that through action we can make our lives, our community, our states and our country better. We need leaders who both tell us and inspire us to do our part, to do more than we think that we are capable of, in every community across the nation.

Although the polls are still open and I don’t know how this election will turn out, I am hopeful, regardless of who is elected. I am hopeful that this campaign has woken its volunteers AND others who have lived in skeptical reluctance to the idea that they could make change happen by taking action. That by being honest, positive and focused on the achievement of common goals that we all can accomplish great things together.

YES

WE

CAN

It’s not just a campaign slogan. It’s truth. The truth that together, we are more than just our wants and needs. Together, we can become our hopes and ambitions.

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