Opinion: Obama campaign restored sense of patriotism in the American voter

November 12, 2008
By Drew Thomason
Columnist         

Photo by David Clary UIS freshman William Smith, of Chicago, receives his ballot prior to voting. It was his first time voting.

Last Tuesday, I voted in my first election since choosing prom court in my senior year of high school.  It’s not that I just turned 18; I’m 23.  It’s not that I haven’t been interested in politics either. What made this election different was the weight it carried and the capacity for (I know this word has been beaten into the ground, sorry) change.

That is why I voted for Barack Obama. It's not because I agree with him on every issue. In fact, there are a lot of issues on which I disagree with him. I didn’t choose him because I think he’ll be an amazing president. I gave him my vote because of the tsunami of hope and faith in America that he has created.

In recent years, this passion for the United Stated had stalled.  One contributor, and the person most people point at, is the current president. He is more of a court jester than a king, making decisions for his amusement rather than because they are good policy.

This has caused a loss of respect for the office, which is unfortunate because it is the most powerful job in the world, one that should command admiration.

With the economy dancing on quicksand and American soldiers dying on foreign sand, it seems most people, especially those of my generation, have also lost faith in America itself.

No longer is it cool to be patriotic, to don red, white, and blue and proudly declare your pride in your country. Sure people will say they support the troops, but it is almost begrudgingly rather than a slice of respect for the country.

On top of all that, we have a do-nothing Democratic Congress who didn’t live up to any of their campaign promises, making people's faith in government fall even lower.

But it seems that Obama has started to reverse that trend of deprecation. People I have talked to seem infused with a new hope. And while it is foolish to believe much will change under an Obama presidency, it brings great joy to my heart to see people genuinely proud of their country.
And that is why everyone needs to remember that this is their country. They have a vested interest in it and what happens to it. So we all need to take a little bit more pride in our patriotism, and hopefully Obama is the nudge we need to get back on track.