Editorial: Election ends, not activism

Obama wins. The election has finally come to an end. By now, every American is already knee-deep in references to the historic nature of this moment. The U.S. has its first black president. The country has made a full swing from Republican to Democratic in the legislative and executive branch. Obama supporters are already preparing their answers for when their grandchildren ask, "Where were you when it happened?" There is no way to overstate the significance of the dawning of the new political era.

The two-year electoral marathon has marked a near-complete reversal from national political apathy to higher involvement across demographic lines. Perhaps the biggest shift was in the youth vote, as shown at Northwestern and college campuses across the nation.

But the importance of change in U.S. political culture doesn't end with the Electoral College breakdown as it appeared this morning. For most students, this was the first time they cast a presidential ballot. The outcome does not mean the road ends here.

It has become a political and historical cliché to say that this campaign season galvanized the youth vote. Millennials took the first steps in exercising their civic power to throw off stereotypes of political apathy.

But a youth movement is not legitimized in one election cycle. To abandon the fervor now would be to discount the work done thus far. It would give more fodder to naysayers looking to write off this age demographic as the iPod-toters and materialists with little sense of what it means to be a US citizen invested in the public good.

The youth movement extends beyond Obama. Hillary Clinton said it most pointedly when she called upon her base to support the Democratic nominee. She asked them if they had been in the race only for her or the causes she champion. Similarly, although Obama may have championed the youth movement, he doesn't have to be its only champion. Youth must continue to support causes important to them regardless of who is touting them on a national stage.

You don't have to be a political junkie or have had a red- and blue color-coded U.S. map hanging on your wall to appreciate the need to remain engaged. A lot of work can be done outside of Washington, and a lot already is. The greatest measure of civic engagement is not in the simple task of casting a ballot. It is in voter mobilization, in grassroots organization. It is in a bus load of Northwestern students spending a Saturday in Iowa knocking on doors.

The work does not end when the candidate sweeps the swing states. The end goal is not getting a chosen candidate elected; it is about the policy changes that candidate will make. Regardless of whether your candidate won, do not treat this election as a final verdict on what Washington will be for the next four years.

The negativity of the Bush administration will end in January and should be replaced by forward thinking. Voting on issues means you cannot always support the winning candidate. And there will certainly be times when the administration does not represent popular interests to full satisfaction. But these are political realities.

So as the revelry - or sting of defeat - fades, don't lull yourself back into ambivalence.

Push Obama and other officials to follow through with the "change" that has been promised. Write letters. Lobby your representatives. Donate to worthy causes. Only through continued effort will all Americans have health care, will Iraqis have true freedom and will the world have a stable economy.

And if the election results have discouraged you, remember: 2010 is just around the corner.