Here's our video Si Se Puede
I wrote this song while campaigning with the grassroots group United for Obama.
Like many I've felt disfranchised for many years because I saw too many politicians playing games and not backing their promises with actions. In Barack Obama I found a leader that didn't bow down to corporate powers and who fought for what was right no matter what his audience was. He spoke of cutting gas emissions to automakers and spoke to the African-American community of the importance of ending discrimination but not only against them, but also by some of them, the discrimination against immigrants, the Jewish people or gays and lesbians. This struck a chord with me. We must fight discrimination of all kinds, not because it is personally convenient, but because it is the right thing to do. Because all of us as a society will be better off if we truly embrace equality and justice for all. Here is a man who not only offered a compassionate and effective way to offer healthcare to all but who also stood firm from the beginning against this despicable war when the position was unpopular.
I've heard people criticize him because he's a great speaker. They are really desperate if their attempt is put down his ability to energize people of all ages, genders and races to become active in the democratic process. What they are trying to ignore is the fact that we are not only responding to his eloquence, but also to the truth of his message. It is a message of a more balanced engagement with world, of an economy that is not rigged to benefit the few, a message of tolerance and progress.
It is this message that has awaken me, and so many of our young, from our long political slumber. It is this renewed enthusiasm that fuels this vast movement, and it is the plurality, the diversity of this movement which inspired me to write this song.
The lyrics were thoughts that have been growing within me, and I'm sure, many others, and as Barack galvanized our intentions, this campaign focused my thoughts into this words that came out in a matter of hours.
We recorded quickly and it is thanks to Eric Byler, Warren Fu, Loni Pham and Annabel Park that you are able to see the finished product so immediately after the fact.
It was a labor of deep-rooted conviction, born of a desire not to acerbate antagonism, but to help, in however small measure, to unite those of us who have been waiting for so long for a moment in which to step up and take charge in the betterment of this world. That's right, we can improve this world. It is not an impossibility. We can do it. Yes we can.
