Let me join the chorus of the millions of voices around the world who have said, “WOW!!!!” in response to the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. As a rule, I don’t normally talk politics or religion with anyone when it comes to these two subjects. (I’ve found that everyone has varying opinions and while we might not see things exactly eye to eye, I defend everyone’s right to believe in what they want to believe in.) After I voted on Election Day I was asked by a reporter from the New York Daily News who I voted for and why? I told him, with pride, Barack Obama! My response was not because he is African-American but because I thought we needed a President who can help restore this country’s standing in the world. America is the greatest country on earth but we as a nation had lost the respect of the world. We all love America whether you are Black, White, Red or Yellow, whether you are a Democrat, Republican or an Independent voter we all love this country and we all are Americans. And, despite what some might want you to believe, I, as well as everyone I know are just as patriotic as anyone else in this country!
I also felt a need to share with the reporter my growing up in the South where I can still remember the separate water fountains in public places and separate entrances for Blacks and Whites for restaurants. Most importantly I remember when both Blacks and Whites were beaten and killed just to have the right for Black people to vote. Even today in various places in this country there are still efforts to keep people from exercising their right to select their own leader. Because of my long standing memories I have never ever taken my right to vote for granted.
When the announcement was made that Senator Obama was now President-Elect Obama I said to myself WOW!!! Unless you’ve grown up as a person of color, poor, discriminated against, looked down upon, considered second class by some, etc, etc. you may not even begin to understand the magnitude of the moment. In recent days you’ve probably heard stories like this, a parents telling their children that they can grow up to be anything they want to be including the President of the United States. If you are Black, you heard it and it sounded good but somewhere in the back of your mind you knew it could never happen! Yeah, you could be a Hall of Fame Football Player, a CEO of a Fortune 500 company or even an Astronaut, but the President of the United States of America? C’mon that’s was a stretch but it sounded good! It has happened and my lone desire is I only wish my parents could have been here to witness this event.
The jubilant response of people around the world to the results of our election was an indication that with our change in leadership of this country we are well on the way to restoring world relationships as well as dealing the many serious problems we all as a nation share.
Well, now we all know that when we tell our children, grandchildren or any other child that we care about that they can be anything they want to be if they work hard and prepare, they can believe it and know that it can happen! This election proved it can. Nothing is impossible! Now let’s find the cures to Cancer, Autism, Alzheimer’s and other conditions that affect us all!