I'm sure that most of the world, or rather most of the folks that weren't supporters of Barack Obama, are a bit tired of all of the pomp and circumstance that has surrounded the inauguration of this great man. I can guarantee that I would be physically ill if January 20 was all about John McCain and satanic Sarah.
I come from Eastern North Carolina and for the most part, that area of the world isn't very tolerant or accepting of those with dark skin, homosexual tendencies, or liberals. Hell, before I left the country for the first time I held some of those same prejudices. This however is not the post to talk about those types of things.
I want to express what the election of Barack Obama means to me.My work colleague and I ventured into Washington DC on Sunday (I'll explain later why I'm even in the Metro area) for the free Rock Obama concert at the Lincoln Memorial. Hundreds of thousands of people were present and every single person I laid eyes on had a smile on their face along with runny noses and red cheeks. It was cold, felt about 5 degrees or so, but we all braved the chill for the sake of our new President and of course, the free music! As I looked around I saw many African-American families, but one such family particularly touched me. Just behind us, there was an older man with his small grandson. The little boy was young enough to lay on the ground to throw a tantrum, play with his tonka truck, but old enough to understand the love he was getting from his granddad. When President Obama took the stage and spoke to the crowd, the man was holding the boy and trying his best to get him to pay attention to the large screen in front of us. The boy, well being a boy, didn't understand the importance of the historical event that was taking place right before his eyes, but his granddad understood very well and his face was shining with pride. That moment brought me back to many of the thoughts I had during the campaign. This man, as I'm sure many other black grandfathers, saw that the small boy he held in his arms could one day be President. The evidence was right before his eyes and the reality that this child and millions of others around the country, can dream big. It doesn't just end with a dream though, it could really happen. I cannot imagine how many people across the United States looked at Obama take the Oath of President and felt such conviction and assurance that the dreams for their children and of their children, could come true.
So yeah, this was probably a boring most for many, but I felt like I needed to combine my thoughts and emotions over the course of last week.
Until next time...
