Posted by
Zero Assumptions on Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:00:00
Congratulations to Senator Obama and to the United States of America. November 4th, 2008 is a historic day. It is the day that millions of Americans’ eyes were opened to the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a reality.
Our new president stood before us not as one who changed America. America has been changing for those that have been willing to see it. Barrack Obama stands before us a confirmation that a dream so eloquently spoken of 45 years ago is more complete than not.
Many of us, who have been able to view America without the filter of anger or hurt, are proud but not surprised. I am quite sure that America was ready for an African American president 8 years ago, had Colin Powel felt ready for the office. If we realize that we elected not only an African American, but the son of a citizen of Kenya, with a name distinctly not of European origin and with political background that would have disqualified a more mundane candidate, we see how far America has come in its openness to people of all races and backgrounds.
I voted for John McCain because I believed him to have more of the right ideas and experience this country needed in this moment of history. However, I watched with a proud heart as my next president stood before the nation and spoke of his hope for America. I don’t know if Obama was the best choice, but I do know he was chosen for all the right reasons. I do know important history was written in last night.
For this moment to reach full potential the old guards of race politics need to use this moment to transform their hearts. From Jesse Jackson to Reverend Wright it is time to release the anger against the shameful injustices of the past. The America you speak and preach about no longer exists. An American with a father from Africa, born before we first heard “I have a dream” is now our President Elect.
This is not to say racism is gone, it isn’t. It is now clearly less of an issue than sexism when it comes to choosing leaders. What is left of racism is best fought by making the dreams and potentials of every child more powerful. What remains of racism is not institutional, but personal. It is best overcome by example.
There will still be times for protest when injustice happens, and it will. But more can be made from celebration of dreams and achievement. No child of any race should ever again hear a leader tell them America hates them because of their race. The message must be “America is a place where all things are possible.”
For many there was a concern that Obama shared too much of the anger of men he has allied himself with in his political career. I have to assume that understood their anger, but unlike them saw an America where the dream could be realized today, not in the future. Obama never ran as a “spoiler” or to make a “statement.” He ran to win. As he stood there before our nation, his hope for America became the reality I already knew to be true.
I welcome my next president, Barrack Obama, to the real United States of America where all things are possible for all people.
Zero Assumptions
Near Seattle, Washington