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Today, the feeling is electric on my quiet suburban street. As a new awareness sweeps across our nation, I taste the air of excitement that I can see on my breath and that fills my soul. Today, as we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr., I see with new eyes the fulfillment of a dream that has eluded us too long. Today, I write with my green pen - the color of hope - to speak of the momentous occasion.
Dr. King spent his life in service to the noblest causes of humanity: Equality and Justice. He knew that the only way we would survive as a nation is to understand these principles as something far greater than the idealistic scrawls of white-wigged men. He knew that none us would ever be truly free until all of us are free from the tyrannies of prejudice that have scarred this country with slavery, segregation, discrimination and myriad other oppressions suffered by many at the hands of the few. He gave his life to enlighten the world. And today we honor and thank him more profoundly that I ever thought possible in my lifetime.
Today, his hope is ordained.
For, by the time you read this, we will have inaugurated Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. Our new day of hope will have dawned and we will have all been changed forever as we realize Dr. King's dream is no longer a dream. Not because Barack is the first African-American to ascend to the highest office in the land, nor because he will ironically take up residence in a White House built by black slaves. We are changed not because of his color, but because We The People have seen beyond his color.
We The People see that the time for change has come and that it is up to each of us and all of us to stand together. United by humanity and mutual respect, not divided by our differences.
I will not deny that I feel a special sense of pride that Barack is a black man. It is easy for me to identify with the confusion and difficulties of being a multi-racial child growing up in a tumultuous time of rampant racism and forced bussing. I am one generation removed from a society that forbade integrated marriages. I have felt the sting and stares of disdain from classmates, teachers, people in the streets, who balked because my mother's skin color is not the same as mine. I have been called nigger, half-breed, mulatto and high-yellow; and I have fought both blacks and whites with both my fists and words because of it. I have been denied opportunity and access. And I have cried.
Like Barack, I have also persevered and excelled. Through love and enlightenment and a determination that refuses to be daunted by society's narrow prescriptions.
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But the pounding pride I feel in my heart comes not from sharing commonality with one man. It comes from being a citizen of the United States of America on this day when we witness the evolution of our revolution. A citizen who stands alongside others - of all colors, religions, creeds, sexual orientation, age and political persuasion -- to see, Yes We Can. We Can make a difference. We Can hold true to the promise that all of us are created equally and deserve to be treated that way. We Can build a better nation and a better world by including all voices in the conversation. We Can disagree and still get the job done for the highest and greatest good of everyone.
We Can build the party of WE and disavow the party of me.
For those who do not share this opinion, those who still feel disenfranchised by the political defeat. To those who sarcastically refer to Mr. Obama as "The Messiah" and poke fun at what you deem an improbable liberal movement built on fluff. To you, my beloved brethren, I say this: It is not about Mr. Obama and whether he can walk on water. This movement of change is about us, you included. It is about the ideal that your children can grow up in a world that is better than yours was because we have put aside our differences to achieve a common good. The kind of good that goes beyond political parties and pocketbook concerns. The kind of good that comes from humanity and doing the right thing by one another. Is that not something you, too, can believe in? Is it not worth a try? Criticize in bitterness and pettiness if you must. It is thankfully your right as a citizen to do so, but the collective voice of change has risen above the din to shout out a new song from sea to shining sea.
That song. The unprecedented celebrations. The giddiness, the glee, the literal dancing in the streets. The feelings of adulation. They are not for Mr. Obama. They are for us.
For like all presidents, Barack is merely our representative. He is the symbol of hope that embodies the fulfillment of Dr. King's dream. And we have entrusted him to carry forward the much-needed change of consciousness that can again make this the greatest country in the world -- in deed and not just in theory. He is the representative Of The People, elected By The People and For The People. All people. And that is all he needs to be.
We The People have spoken. And now we must do the rest.
Looking Forward,
Lisa V.
