朝雲文選

啊啊啊~~明天要大考﹐結果我今天還用力把自己拖出去投票﹐結果到學校上課﹐發現全班只剩下10%的同學(因為大家都跑去投票了)﹐而剩下的10%也是在電腦教室裡面上網看開票結果﹐更好笑的是我們教授﹐上課上一半還問我們同學：「現在票數多少啦？」

我支持的奧巴馬高票當選(放煙火)﹐很奇怪共和黨的候選人馬侃其實也不算太差﹐不過居然拿到的票數少得可憐﹐我能想到唯一最合理的理由﹐就是因為馬侃非常不幸和現任總統布希是同一黨的﹑加上他的副總統美女裴琳小姐的功勞(有時候我會懷疑﹐裴琳是不是民主黨跑去臥底搗蛋的？！)這讓我想到去年台灣的總統大選的結果——果然賭爛票的威力大得出奇啊！

可惜的是我全力支持的加州8號提案居然通過了(雖然是以將近5-5波)的票數險勝。(我已經可以看到我那個被基督教基本教義洗腦外加極端保守派的老爸花上一整天的時間取笑在8號提案上投NO的我．．．)

但想到奧巴馬在當選感言致詞時說的小故事﹐那是演講中讓我最感動的部份(不誇張﹐我真的眼淚流下來了)：有一位106歲的耄耋女性黑人選民﹐當她出生的時候﹐美國還是封閉保守的國家﹐她長大的年代﹐她沒有投票權﹐因為1.她是黑人﹑2.她是女人。但她走過美國最黑暗的經濟恐慌﹐走過1960年代黑人人權民主運動﹐當美國的珍珠港被轟炸﹑世界被獨權者脅迫﹐當人類的腳步踏上月球﹐當柏林圍牆倒下﹐當世界被科技和人類的想象力帶往一個不可思議的境界﹐直到今天﹐這位老太太可以坐著﹐在電腦螢幕上輕輕觸碰螢幕如此簡單地投下她神聖的一票——如此在一個世紀之前幾乎沒有人能夠想像到的改變。

100年前的美國﹐女人和黑人沒有人權﹐而大家認為這是理所當然的絕對﹐可是如今我們身在美國讚嘆著我們所享受的自由民主﹐而黑人裔的奧巴馬成為了美國總統。

100年前﹐在遠方或地球彼端的人們要聯絡必需經過漫長的等待才能收到魚雁的往返﹐而如今我們在網際網路上按下enter鍵﹐五秒鐘之後海洋另一端的收件者就能看到你一分鐘前照的照片。

時代在改變﹐如今我們見到的絕對不一定是未來絕對﹐當時光流逝﹐或許十年後﹑或許五十年﹐也或許一百年﹐人們的思想會改變﹐信仰會不同﹐整個世界也會不一樣。

剛剛上網看到選舉結果﹐其實8號提案是以51%比48%險勝的(原本我也預計提案會通過﹐不過會是以將近60%左右的高票數通過)﹐但事實已經證明﹐我們的社會其實比我想像的更自由開放。

我也看到在民調中顯示﹐大多數的年輕族群和大學生壓倒性地反對這項提案。

5月加州的同性結婚合法化提案會通過﹐其實已經是酷兒婚姻權的一大里程碑。雖然這次8號提案闖關成功﹐但並不表示即將成為主流的下一代年輕人不會再次推翻他。(法律其實有時候是很脆弱的．．．)

我依然相信﹐有很多事是需要時間和社會的變遷後﹐可以改變的。

當有些東西不再那麼絕對。

我依然相信愛﹐依然相信﹐當兩個人真心地愛著﹐它是足以超越所有﹑凌駕一切世人看來至高無上的法律規則範疇的。

因為愛﹐也因為我們尊重愛的本質﹐它可以跨越所有的隔閡間隙。

P.S.我一樣堅決反對的4號提案闖關失敗了啊啊啊啊啊~這次選舉結果還是很讓人震驚的——加州果然還是趨近自由開放的啊！(照片來自網路照片；美國下一任新總統Barack Obama~)

 P.S.S.特別附上奧巴馬當選感言的英文原文(懶得翻譯了﹐總之很感人﹐有興趣的就看看吧：

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place whereall things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders isalive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight isyour answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches innumbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and fourhours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed thatthis time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat andRepublican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight,disabled and not disabled--Americans who sent a message to the world that we havenever been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always willbe, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many tobe cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their handson the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on thisday, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long andhard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the countryhe loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin toimagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave andselfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they haveachieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation'spromise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from hisheart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets ofScranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-electof the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of mybest friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love ofmy life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama.

Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppythat's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, Iknow my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. Imiss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, andthe best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics--you made thishappen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to--itbelongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start withmuch money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls ofWashington--it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms ofConcord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings theyhad to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. Itgrew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation'sapathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered littlepay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold andscorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions ofAmericans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than twocenturies later, a government of the people, by the people and for the peoplehas not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't doit for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that liesahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrowwill bring are the greatest of our lifetime--two wars, a planet in peril, theworst financial crisis in a century.

Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking upin the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives forus. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fallasleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills,or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to becreated; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get therein one year or even one term, but America--I have never been more hopeful thanI am tonight that we will get there. I promise you--we as a people will getthere.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree withevery decision or policy I make as president, and we know that government can'tsolve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challengeswe face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, Iwill ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's beendone in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years--block by block, brick bybrick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end onthis autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek--it is only thechance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to theway things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibilitywhere each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not onlyourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taughtus anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Streetsuffers--in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship andpettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried thebanner of the Republican Party to the White House--a party founded on thevalues of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity.

Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won agreat victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination toheal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nationfar more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends ... thoughpassion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." Andto those Americans whose support I have yet to earn--I may not have won yourvote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliamentsand palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners ofour world--our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawnof American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down--wewill defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And toall those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright--tonightwe proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our themight of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power ofour ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America--that America can change. Our unioncan be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what wecan and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told forgenerations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast herballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line tomake their voice heard in this election except for one thing--Ann Nixon Cooperis 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no carson the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for tworeasons--because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century inAmerica - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the timeswe were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that Americancreed: Yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, shelived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot.

Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, shesaw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense ofcommon purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she wasthere to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yeswe can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridgein Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We ShallOvercome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world wasconnected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election,she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 yearsin America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows howAmerica can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so muchmore to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves--if our children should live tosee the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as AnnNixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time- to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; torestore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the AmericanDream and reaffirm that fundamental truth--that out of many, we are one; thatwhile we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, andthose who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed thatsums up the spirit of a people.

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States ofAmerica.