and we will

Never could I have imagined how emotional I would be over this.  I Obama with his family; they are just a normal family.  I hear him call us all to join in the cause, to work to make this country what it can be and I feel that I can.  I feel apart of this election. 

 

That is historic.

 

This moment is historic for so many reasons.  It is monumental that we have elected this country’s first African-American president   It allows us to move forward in a way that no other event has done before. 

 

Yet, that is not all.

 

There is this feeling, that I can make a difference.  There is a feeling that what I do matters.  It makes me think that even the things that I voice on this site matter.  It makes me think that the time I spend talking to people about issues, hearing why they disagree with me and coming to an understanding is a part of the progress.  Watching him give his acceptance speech as the map of the states in the corner of the screen showed a pattern of red, blue and yellow, the amazing enormity of this country struck me.  We have a vastness of resources and talent.  This moment in time, we actually have someone willing to tap into that natural resource.  That resource is me.  It is you.  It is all of us. 

 

No, I am not delusional. 

 

Even in my happiness and the magic of the moment, I know that it is not going to be easy or quick.  I know that tomorrow, we will still have two wars and an economic crisis staring down at us.  I even know that Obama will disappoint me.  Yet, for the first time, I feel like an American President (Elect) spoke to the American people as if we were adults and ask us to step up.

 

I’m ready.

 

This is a paradigm shift.  

 

I see it in the huge crowd in Chicago.  I see it in the stories of people dancing in the streets of New York.  I especially see it in the spontaneous revelries at the gates of the White House.  The signs are there also in the way the CNN crew were quiet after the announcement of Obama winning.  Their voices were lowered and they became circumspect.  There was no rancor when one explained that Joe the Plumber was no longer the face of America, that America was a diverse country.  For the several minutes that the Obama’s and Biden’s stood on stage and waved to the crowd, they did not talk over it or explain it.  And, my mind keeps returning to the little scenes of people jumping up and down at the White House.  We really did it and we can move forward. 

 

Yes, we can.  Yes, we did.  Yes, we will.