Dear Mister President-Elect:
We are still giddy, we are still unable to articulate our sentiments beyond "YES!", we feel proud to be a part of what you have created. We are writing to you as Devis, Devis with Babies, Brown Girls. You have captured our minds, our hearts, our fantasies. You are our President and while we might not have known we needed a leader, we are happy to have found it out. We cannot wait to see how this palpable joy and energy is leveraged. To you, our Rock Star President, some of the many, many, many reasons we are in love:
- Last night, because of you, hipsters, anarchists, cynics danced side by side in the streets of San Francisco, New York, Chicago, waving American flags and chanting words like "hope" and "change"...without irony.
- People are telling their kids that anything is possible...and believing it.
- You carried Virginia...Virginia! Macacas around the globe smile.
- We feel hopeful. This, in the face of wars, economic recession, looming environmental emergencies. We know you can't fix everything and you are one man. And yet: We feel hopeful.
- You can make fun of yourself and joke that your daughters find you "boring."
- Your election has redeemed our country in the eyes o
f our friends, family, fellow-Devis around the world. And: "Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place"--Nelson Mandela
- You pronounce Pakistan properly. (Why is it so hard?)
- We believe you. After being lied to by almost every public figure put before us in our adult lives: We believe you.
- You love, admire, and respect your wife.
- You tried to defeat Proposition 8.
- You can dance.And your list of favorite songs promises you will pick something better than "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" for your inauguration.
- You're smart. It's such a relief.
- You're a skinny brown guy with a "funny" name--you are our sons and husbands.
- You have given us the gift of being part of a historic moment...that is not also a tragic moment.
- You are going to unite us: "And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too."
Most of all: Our children--many of whom aren't even 3 yet--will get to become little people in a culture of respect and honor for our country. They will admire you. You can--and will!--usher in a world they will be proud of. You're gonna make them rock the vote better than MTV. One day, they can shake their heads and wonder about their weird old parents who talk about 8 years of doom, gloom, antipathy and moral vacuousness.
This is our moment. This is our time. We are ready. We are waiting.
Love,
Devis with Babies
Deepa is a wife, mother, writer and she sometimes masquerades as a lawyer as well. She revels in friendship, humor, champagne, and laughing at herself--often. She never ever reads US Magazine, thinks Rushdie is a genius, wishes she could write one sentence as funny as "Arrested Development," and lives in the Bay Area with her motley crew. She can be reached at deviswithbabies@gmail.com
Haha I had forgotten about the Ellen dancing! What are we supposed to do now till January?!?
Right on Deepa. I just sent this to a few friends. The non-tragic historic event is what got me. Obviously we have seen history, 9/11 coming first to mind. But history like this? I still can't believe it. I almost envy our children! I just hope O can live up to this challenge, I really think he can.
I too was struck last night by how some of the most jaded people I know were getting swept up. We WANT to believe so badly! I am a little scared we are setting ourselves up to be disappointed. But I am more excited than scared and at the end of the day it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all right??
YES! We should send this to him!! I feel so bonded to our country, fellow mothers, fellow devis. It sounds so silly but I didn't know it could feel like this!!!
The day is over and all the talk has turned to Obama's agenda and what he is going to do in the next 100 days. But I am still frantic with excitement!! It feels like so many things that were bad today aren't bad anymore. THAT is history and THAT is not tragic--it's whatever the opposite of tragic is. I keep wondering how much I am identifying with Obama because he is a person of color. Can't answer it yet but I know I feel like somebody of "mine" is going to run the country. This is what people must talk about, when they talk about inclusion.
great post,love me some skinny funny named presidents! Yes we can!!!
Awesome. She thought so too: http://rickshawdiaries.wordpress.com/2008/11/05/america-has-cracked-open/
YES. About the fact that Our President, skinny and funny-named, is our sons. Imagine how much easier this makes the world for them.
I know you likely meant much of this as joke-y but it is really wonderful. Obama means different things to Indians than he does to whites than he does to every ethnic group. It is wonderful to see an open-letter from one of ours that is both poignant and entertaining. Thank you.
I still get emotional and all welled up when I watch the YouTube clips of the news casters announcing the winner; Obama speaking to the nation as President-elect and when I read articles/editorials/excitement from the world around about him being elected to office. Yes, we can!
This:
You're smart. It's such a relief.
is SO on point.
Like, seriously. If we had one more idiotic bozo in the White House, I would have had to swiftly launch myself off a tall building.
This is BEAUTIFUL. Now, 4 days after the election, when it is all really starting to make sense, lists like this still make me get goose bumps. Thank you, very well said!