What a night!
In his speech last night President-Elect Barack Obama mentioned a 106 year old woman that cast her vote in this election and described all the phenomenal changes she'd witnessed in her lifetime. It made me pause and reflect for a moment. I'm 62 and in my lifetime I have a memory of seeing one of the first television broadcasts ever made. I remember the miracle of Jonas Salk and his cure for polio. I watched the events of 1963 when President Kennedy was assassinated. I watched the emergence of the Civil Rights movement, and the end of legal segregation. I watched a live broadcast of an American actually climb out of a real space ship and step on the moon. I have memories of the too often graphic images of the Vietnam war and the fall of Saigon. Watergate and the only resignation of a disgraced President are still fresh memories. I witnessed the development of computers and the internet. I saw the horrific act of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols in Oklahoma City, and the unbelievable attack on America on September 11th.
There have been quite a few events of historical note happen in my six decades.
Then there's last night. Right before my eyes, live, I watched a transformation of our nation. It came as an election result. I'm totally convinced the best candidate won, and our current president illustrates that's not always the case. This one we got right. But before that could happen America had to change. It wasn't enough to vote for the candidate that represented the best policies, the best leadership, the best intellect, we had to come to terms with an issue that's been a repressive fact of our existence for centuries. We had to confront our own prejudices and make a decision. It was a defining moment for our nation and no one realistically knew which path we'd take until last night.
In 1963, prior to the Civil Rights Act, Martin Luther King stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial before hundreds of thousands and said in part, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Last night, on November 5, 2008, I saw history. Not just the results of an election, but a historical moment in our nation happened right before our eyes. Even before Barack Obama gets sworn in, even before his administration sets a course on addressing our massive problems, he's already given our nation a great gift.
Or did we give it to ourselves?
In his speech last night President-Elect Barack Obama mentioned a 106 year old woman that cast her vote in this election and described all the phenomenal changes she'd witnessed in her lifetime. It made me pause and reflect for a moment. I'm 62 and in my lifetime I have a memory of seeing one of the first television broadcasts ever made. I remember the miracle of Jonas Salk and his cure for polio. I watched the events of 1963 when President Kennedy was assassinated. I watched the emergence of the Civil Rights movement, and the end of legal segregation. I watched a live broadcast of an American actually climb out of a real space ship and step on the moon. I have memories of the too often graphic images of the Vietnam war and the fall of Saigon. Watergate and the only resignation of a disgraced President are still fresh memories. I witnessed the development of computers and the internet. I saw the horrific act of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols in Oklahoma City, and the unbelievable attack on America on September 11th.
There have been quite a few events of historical note happen in my six decades.
Then there's last night. Right before my eyes, live, I watched a transformation of our nation. It came as an election result. I'm totally convinced the best candidate won, and our current president illustrates that's not always the case. This one we got right. But before that could happen America had to change. It wasn't enough to vote for the candidate that represented the best policies, the best leadership, the best intellect, we had to come to terms with an issue that's been a repressive fact of our existence for centuries. We had to confront our own prejudices and make a decision. It was a defining moment for our nation and no one realistically knew which path we'd take until last night.
In 1963, prior to the Civil Rights Act, Martin Luther King stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial before hundreds of thousands and said in part, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Last night, on November 5, 2008, I saw history. Not just the results of an election, but a historical moment in our nation happened right before our eyes. Even before Barack Obama gets sworn in, even before his administration sets a course on addressing our massive problems, he's already given our nation a great gift.
Or did we give it to ourselves?
