I am still extraordinarily emotional and also emotionally exhausted after the unparalleled events of yesterday and last night. Here are some thoughts as I’ve tried to gather them.
On a night where CNN unveiled holograms as a pizzazzy new interviewing tool, when Twitter didn’t buckle under the load, when all across the United States of America individuals held their collective breaths eagerly and anxiously anticipating the result of this amazing journey, the world stood still and millions of heartbeats stopped at once and as one. Change came to America. Those hearts started up quickly and Change came with an overwhelming outburst of joy mixed with relief and hope.
Change came in our apartment with loud yells followed by neighbors and friends rushing upstairs to scream and cry and laugh at something we all hoped for, but dared to believe would actually happen. Change came in ways that transcended the gritty, ugly, and often self-defeating battles of politics. Change came in ways that transcended the hopes of what one man can accomplish. Change came in ways that actually lifted us beyond rhetoric and made us all look deep inside of ourselves and realize, that we are the Change.
Making History
Barack Obama’s election to the highest office in our land was historic on so many levels. Books will be written and words will be spoken about this moment those of us now on this planet lived keenly and with our senses ready to explode. We all live history every day. But the day we lived yesterday was one for the ages.
Racial barriers may still exist in the small minds of those who can’t see beyond the color of their own skin, but for the next generation of children in this country, many of them will know Barack Obama simply as the President. They will see nothing unusual when an African American seeks that office, or any other, in the future. When my home state of Virginia finally (and in a moment beyond my imagining) gave its electoral votes to Barack Obama, the product of a white mother and a black father, I remembered that the Old Dominion was the last state with an anti-miscegenation law on the books until 1967, when a Supreme court case, poetically called Loving v. Virginia, finally brought an end to that lingering legality.
Intelligence Matters
Barack Obama and his team proved that you can compete in politics with intelligence beyond that which is just clever and manipulative. His victory appealed to both the heart and the mind. They also proved you can be tough without showing an ugly side. While it is too early to tell, I would hope those who aspire to the game of politics will see that a message of inspiration, delivered with intelligence, can indeed triumph over the greedy gutterball tactics of our most recent past. Intelligence does matter in this office and it can indeed speak to all of us, if we dare to let it.
What I witnessed on television last night in the faces of the crowds listening to Obama’s speech was a desperate yearning for leadership that can inspire us to be better. What I heard most keenly in his words, was a man, acknowledging that he would not be the answers to so many prayers and expectations, but a man who would be honest with us and speak to us with intelligence and grace, regardless of the challenges we will face. I will support that truth and hold him to those words.
A Story from the Election Line
When I went to vote yesterday morning there were lines. Nothing like the lines seen on TV. In fact after the 9 o’clock hour friends told me that they were in and out in a few minutes. But, when I was there I was in a line. there were three lines broken up by the letters of our last names. As our line, in an orderly and timely fashion moved forward, an elderly African American woman in the line next to mine stepped up to the table. I couldn’t hear the conversation until it got louder, but she was being told that she was in the wrong line due to her last name. She turned back and looked at the lines behind her, and her face sank. With a sigh, she said, I’m not going to vote today, I have to leave now. And before she took a step, a woman at the head of our line, grabbed her by the arm and said said with quiet strength, “No, you will vote today.” That woman then moved the elderly lady to the front of our line. No one said a word. No one looked askance. The line moved on and the woman voted. I will remember that moment for the rest of my life. I was not the only one in that line wiping a tear from my eye.
Expectations
I remarked on Identi.ca or whatever social network tool I typed this into last night that I sensed in Obama’s face during the speech and the promenading afterwards, that his countenance had changed, almost as if the gravity and the weight of the burden he now bears had begun to sink in. Others responded that my observation was not unique. The challenges ahead are beyond enormous and beyond that which any human could wish another to bear. I kept wondering what he could possibly be feeling at this moment, when the eyes and the ears of the world were trained on his every word and his every nuance. The expectations are enormous and my awe for this man in choosing to bear those burdens is endless.
Jesse Jackson’s Tears.
I’ve never been a fan of Jesse Jackson. But I was moved last night when I saw him in tears once the inevitable became history.
Sharing online
Call it a community, call it microblogging, call it social networking or graphing, or call it madness. Whatever it was, it was a joy to share this moment with many of the folks I’ve had the privilege to share this incredible journey with on Twitter, Identi.ca, and FriendFeed. Awesome folks, whether we agreed or disagreed. I hope I may be allowed to call them friends as well.
On Real America
I hope we never hear the phrase ‘Real America’ again. Call me naive, but it is all Real America and always has been regardless of how many have tried to make some parts of it more real than others. Last night proved how real it really is in more ways than is perhaps within our collective grasp at the moment. That was the moments beauty.
Moving On
The real work has begun and the scrutiny will be intense, as will the effort required to meet the challenges. Last night was a moment in time, shared by millions, as the world watched one man embody so much for so many. But that moment, as historic as it was, and as indelible as it seems currently, will fade unless the many moments that follow live up to the promise of what that moment foretold.
I think we’ve got the man to do the job.
