We were among friends last night watching Obama win. Sitting on the edge of our seats, cautiously optimistic as the numbers starting coming in. Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio and then Virginia – those 'battleground' states weren't such a battleground after all. What a moment in our history as a country. I think the whole nation realized that we were participating in one of those few moments in history that something profound was happening. Either way people voted – nothing can eclipse this historic cultural moment. Barack Obama wasn't just an African American running for political office – he was a brilliant politician who could inspire the people across this country to re-engage in the ideals of our government. His message crossed ethnic, gender and generational divides and brought people together in ways that I have never seen. That very fact that he was able to do this – now that makes me proud of my country. To know that the majority of voters in this country saw who he was – not just the skin color – that inspires hope like little else I have seen. And he is African American and the power of this moment cannot be underplayed. His election gives hope and inspiration to the disenfranchised of this country. It is a first of hopefully many steps for our nation to truly hold on to the dream of Martin Luther King. Or maybe it is one of many steps on the long road of ridding our world of racial divisiveness.
For myself, Obama is representative of what has made this country so great from the beginning. He is the melting pot – not just ethnically but globally as well. I like the fact that his father was a muslim and his grandmother lives in Kenya. I like the fact that he is a global citizen with a larger world view then the rarefied world of Texas ranches and ivy league colleges. I like that he is also a politician from Chicago and has the smarts to never take anything for granted.
I am relieved this morning. I am excited. This was the first election that two of my children got to vote in. My son called from Canada to say in a choked up voice that he no longer feels ashamed of his country. My daughter called from Rhode Island, having spent the night out on the capitol steps in Providence, cheering with hundreds of other students in a spontaneous street rally for Obama's victory. She said that she had never experienced anything like this before in her life. Neither have I.
Today is a good day.
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