By Allison Weiner, TWR Youth Action Fellow ‘20
Georgia’s Senate Runoff Election: One for the History Books
I watched the news with anxiety as the votes were coming in. I couldn’t sleep until I knew the results. There were times when things were looking grim, but I didn’t want to give up. I knew we could do it.
I stayed glued to the news until finally, they disclosed the results. Two Democratic senators were elected to the Senate in Georgia, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. The election of these two candidates marked the first time Democrats took over the Senate in six years. Warnock also made history as the first person of color to be elected to the Senate in Georgia. It couldn’t have been done without the amazing work of Stacey Abrams, who advocated for voting rights and campaigned all over the nation to get people to get registered and vote. Voting is incredibly important, and this is one of the best examples that highlights how much your voice matters and how your vote can truly make a difference. I can’t believe that this happened! It’s about time.
This election means many things, but most importantly, it means that there’s hope. There’s hope that things will get better. Hope that the problems will slowly start to be fixed. Hope that finally, finally we will start to see some positive change in this country.
Now that this historic event has gone down in history, a colossal weight has been lifted off our shoulders. America now has people in the Senate who care about racial equality. America has people in the Senate who care about LGBTQ+ rights. America has people in the Senate who care about the lives of the people not only in this country, but also in the world. For the first time in a very long time, there’s hope that we will start to see some good change in this country and that we can make this world a better place.
However, just because the election is over does not mean that our work is done. There is still so much work to do to restore our country. We need to continue the efforts to make the changes this country desperately needs. There is a lot of healing that needs to be done to a nation that is currently in distress. Now, we as a nation have to come together and work to fix these problems so we can truly make this country the best it can be. As the late Congressman John Lewis said in his final essay, “When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression, and war.” We can make the change if we are willing to put in the work. And I have faith that we will be able to do it.
Allison Weiner is a senior at Terre Haute South Vigo High School. She is also a Youth Action Fellow and a Youth Action Network Founder. Likewise, she is on the managing committee for National STAND and is one of the chapter leaders for her high school’s STAND chapter.
Banner Image Source: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/06/us/georgia-election-results
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