We grew up in project buildings. We grew up at the end of cul-de-sacs. We grew up five miles from the nearest house. We grew up in America. We come from backgrounds of luxury and struggle. We finished school with honors, and we dropped out. We voted for the first time, and we only just registered. We didn’t understand red states or blue states. We understood that these are the United States.
And as a generation, we millennials must be united in the fact that the collective power we possess will allow us to do great things for this country that we call our home. We must show this power en masse on Election Day, one vote by one vote.
We are bombarded with television analysis, newspaper opinions, blogs, tweets, Facebook posts, radio commentators and street corner preachers that all offer some perspective about who will decide the election between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Over the course of months, this commentary puts the power in the hands of various constituencies. Seniors in Florida. Independent women in New Hampshire. The unemployed in Ohio. Every day, some new group gets handed the magic wand that will choose the winner of this year’s battle.
But, let me be straight. The battle begins with millennials, those much-maligned 18-to 29-year olds for whom so much is at stake. For this is our future.
The future arrived yesterday, and the present presents us with an opportunity to dream big. Dreams that in reality will uplift our entire generation, not just a percentage of us. Dreams that are so deeply rooted in compassion, that there is no way we leave anyone behind.
Michael Skolnik is the editor-in-chief of GlobalGrind.com and the political director to Russell Simmons. He is also an award-winning filmmaker. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelSkolnik
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SOURCE: CNN
