Reflecting on this Historic Moment

This will probably be my last post having to do with politics and then I'll get back to cute stories and pictures of Mr. Mister.

Yesterday morning, I saw part of the Today show as they reflected on Obama's victory and the momentous occasion that it is for our country. As they showed footage of the crowd at his victory speech in Grant Park in Chicago, I saw an elderly black man with tears in his eyes. All of a sudden, I found myself in tears as I thought about what that man has seen and what this day must mean to him. And what it means to our country as a whole. Political parties and voting preferences aside, the significance of the first African American president is astounding when considering the history of our country and the events that occurred not that long ago.

As I thought about it, I realized that someone's race, either black or white or anything else, is not the reason to vote or not vote for that person. But now that Obama is our president, the significance cannot be overlooked. Multiple African American people have said in interviews, "I can now tell my child honestly that he can be anything he wants to be."

In our local paper this morning, I found the following excerpt from a Nov. 5th Washington Post article. This segment really reflects what I've been thinking about. The message transcends political views and celebrates the milestone that this is for our country.

"When we endorsed Mr. Obama for president, we did not mention race, for the simple reason that race played no role in our decision; Mr. Obama was just the better of two good nominees. But race is hugely relevant to this moment. The stain of slavery and discrimination can never be obliterated, and no single day can mark a nation's progress into some mythical "post-racial" era. Yet how could Americans not be moved by the reality of an African American president? Mr. Obama was born at a time when numerous states would have prohibited the marriage of his white Kansan mother and black Kenyan father, before the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act had outlawed the worst of Jim Crow, when the Supreme Court's order to desegregate schools was being fought at every turn. Hardly anyone then - in truth, hardly anyone even a few years ago - would have predicted this day..."