On the Eve of Greatness

Tomorrow millions of Americans will vote, in addition to the millions that have voted already. Early voting numbers have shattered records. Why such the fuss? I'm sure you know exactly why. This election, one way or another, is going to be groundbreaking. We will either have a female Vice President or an African American president. It's going to be a great day for us Americans and our strive towards ethic perfection. As Americans, the world looks onto us. We are the major power in the world today, and one of the richest per capita. We are often the home of human ingenuity and design, and the American workforce is par none. Technology has become an integral and mandatory part of society for each and every one of us. However, through the greats, America is at quite a low, as is most of the world today. We are pouring billions of dollars into two mismanaged wars, and are in the middle of one of the greatest economic crises in our history. Though it's taken this, we Americans have learned the error of our ways, and try day in and day out to correct them without second thought. In America, good isn't good enough. In fact, nothing for us is good enough. We constantly demand more of everyone. Perhaps it's this that gives the American culture unfavorable views among certain other countries. We are uptight, and expect things to get done when we ask for them, and not a day later. Well, I think you could speak just as well as I when I say that when things don't get done on time, well let's just say we freak out.
     It's funny, I just wrote an entire paragraph summarizing the American culture and none of you questioned my reasoning. American CULTURE? When have you ever heard of THAT before? I beg the question, why are we so prone and eager to denoting ourselves to some extraneous background? Why can't we just say that we are Americans? Americans come in all flavors, colors, sizes and minds. This is what makes our culture so great. None are as diverse as we are. My words may seem paradoxical to some, but just think - our differences unite us. We work daily as a nation, together. This is most evident in times of need. When September 11th, 2001 reared it's morose head and the ashes settled, through the rubble and wreckage stood a society. We the people stood together as one, determined to defend ourselves and the attack that equally affected all of us on that heinous day. In August of 2003, there was a large blackout that affected 40 million Americans, (but don't forget the 10 million Canadians, eh?) The last time there was a major blackout (be it 1977) there was major looting. New York City was brought to its knees as men women and children raided shops and broke windows, but what's one to expect of such a materialistic society? Well, in 2003, men, women, and children roamed the streets hand in hand, gazing at the stars. They were amazed by the stars in the sky, as in New York City, the only stars in the sky are those after three or four shots. All roamed looking upward and smiling. Darkness in the city that never sleeps. We were together. It was a beautiful thing.
     Maybe that's why many others can't stand us Americans. All too rarely do we actually unite without a cause. Though I do think it is a flaw in our society, I don't believe that it takes a catastrophe to get us together. In 2004, few people had ever heard the name Barack Obama, nor how to pronounce it. After a rousing speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention, he became known. Barack Obama is the Junior Senator from Illinois. He's born of a Muslim Kenyan father, and to a Caucasian mother. I'm not sure about yourself, but I've yet to hear Senator Obama classify himself as a race other than American. Possibly it's out of his self-proclaimed inability to do so. Without being stereotypical, it's not common for a boy to be born of ancestries that inhabit opposite sides of the earth. Out of poverty and a very rough childhood without ever really knowing his father, Barack Obama has risen in America as one of the most amazing figures to grace America with their intellect. Barack Obama is the true American, one who comes out of trouble and times that would bring about negativity and hopelessness. Barack Obama and his supportive family never caved in to those feelings, regardless of how poor conditions were. This man by the name of Barack Obama has spoken to us in a time of undeniable need for change and reconciliation. My fellow Americans, there is no denying that this country is at one of its most polar points in history. I see whites hating blacks, blacks hating whites, slurs and negative epithets flying through the air daily, and it makes me sick. Can't we all just say we are Americans? I am a Puerto Rican American, one with origins to Europe as the majority of this nation, but should that really matter? Where we are from tells nothing of us. Who's to say all blacks are African, and to say all whites are European? Who are you to classify and degrade another culture, when you don't understand them? We the people must unite, and not just out of cause. We must unite as a nation. Let us show others around the world that we can accept each other, and moreover embrace one another. Our differences are what make us so great, so why put them down or try to hide them? Why should we resort to the mistakes of our ancestors, and  apply unfair racial thoughts to certain people just because of how they dress? America, we need to one day move beyond the fact that those wearing turbans or hijabs aren't terrorists. So what if we were attacked by men from that culture? Mind you, we were attacked by one of our own in the 2001 Anthrax attacks, which killed many. A government scientist by the name of Bruce Edwards Ivins was suspected. When informed of this, he committed suicide. Does that mean we should fear ourselves?
     Just as catastrophes have done, should great do. Let us unite, and not only under the bad. Barack Obama has united many cultures of this nation in a way that few have before. Barack Obama is the true American hero, showing how great we can be as a culture, not just a generalized group of distinct segregated societies. Hope to one day us being a single culture that lives the American way. Through good and bad, we will be more successful together. In these trials we face, may we be more strongly linked than ever before, and may this link never waver, all while remembering, if gold was to rust, what then would iron do?