American Progress

This morning I woke up and although tired, I was relaxed and positive. Indeed, the 2008 election marks a new birth for this country. Not just politically or racially but also emotionally, mentally, culturally and democratically. And the implications for the world are just as great.

Given all that has happened, I don't feel this is a big deal - A black president who speaks about our Founding Father's visions for America should not be marked as an historic occasion. This should be a common expectation. It should come as no surprise. Our creed and declaration demand that it come as no surprise.

Yet, reality dictates otherwise. This election is a big deal. It’s a big deal to our parents, our relatives, our past leaders, the rest of the world and everyone else who lived through the bright and dark moments in history. Perhaps my complacent feelings say more about my own experiences or lack thereof over the last 24 years. Maybe I just have no idea because as one friend acknowledged, "all I have is an extension of stories passed down to me." Whatever it is, I hope my no-big-deal reaction is what our founders intended.

I don't want to set my expectations too high for Barack Obama. But the content of his character is rich. It’s rich with understanding and rich with historical knowledge. His candidacy opens a multitude of doors at home and abroad. We have a chance to reclaim dreams and move forward on so many matters. I’m not merely talking about the partisan matters of the last eight years. I’m referring to matters which have extended throughout America’s 232 years. Issues and perceptions which have affected American citizens of color, gender, affiliation and intellect.

As John Adams once said:

"Government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people; and not for profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men; therefore, the people alone have an incontestable, unalienable, and indefeasible right to institute government; and to reform, alter, or totally change the same, when their protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness require it."

For all its historical context and all its implications, the 2008 election provides us with this opportunity as Americans, and as citizens of the world, to move onward and upward. It's time to make it count.