President Obama
[ This is reprinted from the journal of a good friend who writes for a subsidisary of USA Today based in South Jersey. He is, despite the standards of USA Today, far more eloquent than I on this topic.]
The world has changed
The world has changed.
Not just the nation.
The world.
Everything has changed. Everything.
In the grand scope of history, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney may one day be no more than a blip in the timeline that created the groundwork necessary for peaceful revolution. They challenged America’s greatness, which had for decades taken a slow, inexorable path toward power, selfishness and manipulation over truth, justice and legitimate freedom. The beacon of freedom and land of opportunity had become a shallow shell living comfortably on the backs of corruption.
Today, all that has changed. They challenged our greatness, and we answered firmly that we will not accept any less than an America that lives true to our ideals.
I dream of a place where truth, justice and greatness exist not merely as abstract concepts but as defining traits of a people. Today, I can no longer be dismissed as a deluded idealist.
Today, I live in that place. It’s called America. And we have taken it back.
My home has proved to the world in so many ways that we are not a country of bullies and warlords, that there is no place for a government that controls the rest of the world by diligently distributing guns, money and favors to warlords, industrialists and weak politicians.
We were the world’s first nation founded on ideals, and in the last 24 hours, we have shown the world that our ideals are not merely historical myth. We have overcome history and righted wrongs. We believe that every person is entitled to be free and equal at conception. We have shown that humans can be as great as we wish to be, that we are not slave to history, that we determine our path and no one else.
This is the Camelot they told us about 48 years ago. Kennedy called, and our parents answered.
On Tuesday, we answered an even greater call.
Barack Obama’s election is not so much about a single person.
It’s about every person.
It’s about millions of students who ignored the cynics and did what no one said they would: Vote.
It’s about the old widow who once crossed the street to fearfully avoid the approaching black man, only to put old prejudices aside Tuesday to give one her trust.
It’s about a family in Nigeria or Brazil that can look at America and not only believe they can find a better life here but also trust we can be the benevolent and just leader the world has so often needed.
It truly is about hope. It’s about hopes coming true.
Obama’s election shows that ideals need not be dismissed as fairy tales told to children. It shows that every child on earth can grow up believing their dreams are possible.
I have never been as proud of my country as I am today.
Today, we can be anything.
The world has changed
The world has changed.
Not just the nation.
The world.
Everything has changed. Everything.
In the grand scope of history, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney may one day be no more than a blip in the timeline that created the groundwork necessary for peaceful revolution. They challenged America’s greatness, which had for decades taken a slow, inexorable path toward power, selfishness and manipulation over truth, justice and legitimate freedom. The beacon of freedom and land of opportunity had become a shallow shell living comfortably on the backs of corruption.
Today, all that has changed. They challenged our greatness, and we answered firmly that we will not accept any less than an America that lives true to our ideals.
I dream of a place where truth, justice and greatness exist not merely as abstract concepts but as defining traits of a people. Today, I can no longer be dismissed as a deluded idealist.
Today, I live in that place. It’s called America. And we have taken it back.
My home has proved to the world in so many ways that we are not a country of bullies and warlords, that there is no place for a government that controls the rest of the world by diligently distributing guns, money and favors to warlords, industrialists and weak politicians.
We were the world’s first nation founded on ideals, and in the last 24 hours, we have shown the world that our ideals are not merely historical myth. We have overcome history and righted wrongs. We believe that every person is entitled to be free and equal at conception. We have shown that humans can be as great as we wish to be, that we are not slave to history, that we determine our path and no one else.
This is the Camelot they told us about 48 years ago. Kennedy called, and our parents answered.
On Tuesday, we answered an even greater call.
Barack Obama’s election is not so much about a single person.
It’s about every person.
It’s about millions of students who ignored the cynics and did what no one said they would: Vote.
It’s about the old widow who once crossed the street to fearfully avoid the approaching black man, only to put old prejudices aside Tuesday to give one her trust.
It’s about a family in Nigeria or Brazil that can look at America and not only believe they can find a better life here but also trust we can be the benevolent and just leader the world has so often needed.
It truly is about hope. It’s about hopes coming true.
Obama’s election shows that ideals need not be dismissed as fairy tales told to children. It shows that every child on earth can grow up believing their dreams are possible.
I have never been as proud of my country as I am today.
Today, we can be anything.