As I stay up late, my eyes glued to the election coverage, I had vowed to myself that I would not go to bed until it was announced that Barack Obama reached the magical “270.”
Shortly after 2300 hrs EST, I joined a global chorus in a sigh of relief, a joyful howl, and genuinely moved to tears.
What I wished and prayed would happen, finally manifested itself into an important historical moment in my country’s history.
Tonight, it feels so much more like my country. The United States I was raised, it is almost always assumed that I'm a foreigner because of my skin, and hence, not American. The idea that someone of colour COULD become president of the greatest nation in the world seemed unrealistic… until now. No child after tonight will ever grow up doubting whether this country would accept him or her as a leader because of their race, and hopefully one day, its gender.
It wasn’t race, though, that earned my support for Sen. Obama. I had prayed and discerned over many issues affecting our country, and I was drawn to many of Sen. Obama’s ideas and the charisma he has to inspire and lead others to achieve these shared goals.
Sen. Obama’s belief in grassroots organizing is what made his campaign a success and should become evident to everyone that change is best effected in the local community. We should take more responsibility in making a difference in world where children can feel safe and be healthy, people can have dignity and sustainability in work, and that everyone will gladly choose a culture of life where a child is showered with love and hope, and the dignity of humanity is upheld, even for a prisoner of war held in Guantanamo or a felon convicted of the most heinous crimes.
Responsibility to make a difference in the world requires more than prayer. The power of prayer is STRONG, but it must be complemented with action. There is more to being a people of faith than rattling beads, lighting candles, or shuffling holy cards faster than a Vegas blackjack dealer. If you were on a boat and your fellow passenger falls overboard, you don’t fall to your knees and pray for their rescue. You throw them a life preservers and pull them in.
Some of my friends aren’t happy who America chose tonight. That’s okay. It was a night in November, 2000 and a night in November, 2004 that I felt the same way. I had hoped that our country would have moved forward in this time, but it's my belief it hasn't.
I have faith in God, and hope in this new democratic revolution, that...yes, we can. And yes... we will move forward.
