Photo by Miles Storey

If the event below appeals to you, go to the Facebook event page and join, and then invite all your people to join — especially if they’re in a different city. This is not an “organized” event — but we’ve been overhearing people asking “where will you be election night” so why not encourage a giant civic celebration?

If the rest of the planet could vote, Barack Obama would win the American 2008 election in an unprecedented landslide. It’s safe to say that much of the world is waiting anxiously for the Obama victory — think of the 200,000 people that saw Obama speak in Berlin last July.

The United States has lost moral support and sympathy around the world over the last eight years. The Obama win is a chance for a new start and to patch up both its reputation and its international relationships. We need to send a big fun signal of good faith that we’re ready to have them back. Let’s do that by gathering together in our public squares to celebrate this new era and show our American friends they are not alone in the world.

Here’s how it will work: When CNN declares victory (since it’s the news organization most internationally available) head to your city or town’s main square where public celebrations usually take place. If it’s a square with a big video screen maybe they’ll broadcast results so you can go early, or watch the victory speech after. Like when your sports team wins, it’s better to celebrate in public with everybody else.

In Toronto, head to Dundas Square. It’s got the space, those big TVs, and after every hockey championship, it is naturally filled with people.

Though planning this before results are in risks a “Dewey Defeats Truman” scenario (let’s all knock wood) it’s worth the risk. We may not agree with everything the United States does or even with all of Obama’s platform, but let’s put all that aside and, for once, celebrate America’s new start. Welcome back America!

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