This is a fictional short story about a historic presidential election told from the perspective of a former campaign staffer.
On that November evening, as we watched the coverage of polls closing across the nation, a hum began to vibrate through the room where we’d gathered together to celebrate our symbolic victory. As the night wore on, a more tangible and increasingly overwhelming victory became undeniably plausible.
On network after network, anchors and pundits were befuddled by the unimaginable political underdog story unfolding before them. No matter their personal ideology, for a brief moment, political insiders and citizens alike watched in awe as the true power of democracy swept through polling stations from coast to coast.
We, the people, had spoken. And with the one pure Constitutional right not yet stolen from us, voters sent an irrefutable message to those who had defiled our democracy – NO MORE! Citizens turned out in record numbers; stood in line for hours; used sick days & personal days; skipped classes & rescheduled meetings, all to exercise our fundamental right to put an end to a despicable status quo, one vote at a time. And each of us shared a common and singular goal: to move the United States in a responsible, sustainable, justice-centric direction.
While she may not have fully considered the impact being President would have on her day-to-day life, she was about to find out what it was like to truly have to practice what she preached on a global scale. And she’d be doing it from the big round office in our nation’s capital. The movement that followed saw voters continuing to evolve toward philosophies of social justice, universal equality, global cooperation and peace, giving the Green Party an overwhelming majority in both houses of Congress with each subsequent election cycle.
When I think back on that first green sweep, it’s with a perspective only hindsight can provide. The stunning impact of that night could be felt immediately. But what I didn’t realize at that time, was that the vibration…that hum we’d all been feeling, that was an upheaval of justice and compassion. We’d finally begun to understand and experience what a global revolution felt like. The heroes of the first American Revolution must have felt something similar. And it was extraordinary.
For the first time in decades, the average American became an active participant in an effort to rebuild a democratic government that works in the best interest of 99% percent of its citizens, rather than bowing to the avarice-driven manifesto of the supremely wealthy extreme right. Beyond that, we had doubled-down on our commitment to ensure that those unable to provide for themselves were never forced to live without basic necessities like natural, genetically unmodified food, clean water, and a safe place to live.
I doubt that Nostradamus himself could have predicted the impact a sitcom icon turned activist granny would have on a 21st Century social revolution. But she knew all along that both revolution and evolution began by standing up. Her impossible victory was the first momentous step toward rebuilding a government of the people, for the people and by the people. And with that step, the real work began as the United States ushered in an unprecedented era of peace and prosperity around the world.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ~ Margaret Mead
