Hope

Wow. Last night was incredible. At midnight, my son raises a glass of wine to toast a new beginning... to Hope. Rhia was on the live web cam celebrating, Barry & I, weeping, praying for healing and daring to dream.

I grew up on a street where my family and one other were the only "white" people. All of my friends were African American. We played together everyday. I never saw color. My mom and dad would probably be considered racist because they used politically incorrect words now and then but they never thought they were better than anyone else on the street. We were all just people. When my children were born, it was my fondest wish that they experience the same lack of color bias.... which was not to be.

In the last 10 years in my town there has been tremendous racial tension. My town has the reputation of whites being elitists who do not want "that element" in their schools. Us "white" folk are becoming the minority and there are quite a few "black" folk who are militant in their views that "they" will show "us." Our schools are battlefields, children acting out their parents emotions. It's been very sad. And shocking to me. I've had a really hard time feeling that I have been attacked and accused of feelings I didn't know I had.

In this election, once again, I didn't see color. I was a Hillary supporter because I love intelligence and contrary to many, I really like the Clintons. I think Bill Clinton was one of the greatest presidents we've ever had. I do not base my opinion of others on who they sleep with. When Hillary wasn't elected, I began to look into Barack Obama. After watching the debates and reading some of his speeches I was delighted to find the same principles that made me like the Clintons; intelligence, fairness, honoring life and realizing that power is not always about who has the bigger army... that negotiation and working with the rest of the world would be the best example of "power". Like Jesus, I believe that fighting is not the answer. Peace.... is always the answer.

Last night I wept. I was stunned at the depth of emotion. It hadn't occurred to me how important this was to African Americans until I was walking up to vote yesterday. Until my son came home from voting with tears in his eyes saying how he hoped this would make the African Americans realize that we are with them.... to heal this racial division and stop all the ugliness. To get rid of the idea that Americans don't care about the rest of the world, to eliminate the impression created after 9/11 that Americans are out to bomb and kill anyone that stands in their way no matter what the United Nations say. We were terrified all day that somehow, someway the election would be rigged and the American people would once again have to suck it up and deal when our vote didn't matter.

Change. Hope. I hadn't dared to dream.

The look in the eyes of the hundreds and thousands out in the streets, celebrating, weeping and hugging one another, regardless of race, leads me to believe I was not alone in my fears. And my joy.

While we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism and doubt and those who tell us we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can.

Barack Obama
President-Elect of the United States of America