Four years ago, I rushed home from BART to watch returns from New Hampshire. Upon getting in my car the race had been called for Hillary. KGO 810 was playing Obama's concession speech.
I remember sitting in the parking lot, the car turned off, and hanging on every word. I didn't dare get out and try to run up the three flights of stairs. Without the visuals, only the audio, I focused in to what he was saying that much more, and thinking this was the most inspiring speech I'd ever heard. It was ironic that something like this came out of an election loss. It would later be used for the will.i.am "Yes we can" video. That very weekend, I'd be traveling by myself up to Reno to canvass for him leading up to the January 19th Nevada caucuses.
The phrase "Yes We Can" has stuck with me ever since that night, because the problems we face are, largely, problems of our choices, not absolute necessity. We often just lack the will to change the status quo or cough up the means needed for the solution. I love this speech because we can do these things, together, should we choose. Only after can we say "yes we did" (which was a popular Inauguration Weekend phrase I loathed until Congress passed the Affordable Care Act more than two years later) on any level. This call from Obama should inspire our ongoing, lifelong work, not our election or day-to-day media cycles.
Back home I have a version of Shephard Fairey's HOPE poster, with the words of this speech making up the image. It's one of my most prized possessions, and something I hope to look on often to continue to inspire my life's work.
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