Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Yes We Can

Specific issues aside, last nights election brought some wonderful moments.

I loved how John McCain presented himself in his concession speech. He showed me that if he had been elected he would have made a good president as well. It was the John McCain that had me excited about the possibility of him being one of the final two candidates. He showed a level of class and support for Obama that I wish more of his supporters would have shown. I have a hunch that if Barack Obama winds up with a legacy of bringing this country back together and setting us on a new, positive path that John McCain will be a big reason behind the scenes.

I admit I shed a tear of joy during Barack Obama's speech. I was struck by how when I first paid attention to politics, just a little bit, in my teen years and there was talk then that we would probably never see an African American elected president in our lifetime. That wasn't all so long ago. What about my parents generation? My parents were born before Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream. How differently have things changed in that generations lifetime? Now, I'm looking at a world in which my son will grow up in world where an African American President of the United States is normal, which I think simply opens the doors further for an Hispanic President, a Female President, and whatever other barriers yet remain. If for no other reason, this was a good day.

On a more minor note, I think it was good day for many of us because now the politcal advertising should all be gone. To inappropriately misquote the African American spiritual, "Free at Last, Free at Last! Thank God, Almighty, we are free!"

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