A New Beginning For America

As I write this, Senator John McCain is concluding his concession speech.  Having gone to the polls at 6 AM today and standing in line for 30 minutes, I am proud to be able to say that I took part in electing Senator Barak Obama the new President of the United States.  Watching the crowds of young people celebrating on television, I was struck with their engagement and participation in this historic process.

Forty-five years ago the Reverend King had a dream - today it became a reality.  As a baby boomer myself, there was almost something surreal about standing in the line at the polls, iPod in hand, listening to the Grateful Dead as I prepared to vote for Barak Obama.  It seems that despite the cynicism of the Bush years, we have, in fact, changed the world, just as we always said we would.

There are times in history when all the right things come together, and Mr. Obama's candidacy at a time when we were, as a nation, hungry for change was a perfect alignment of circumstance, desire, and the right man for the job.  Today the world sees what we have always known in our hearts:  That we are able to live up to the grand words and ideas that this country was founded upon.  We are not just blowhards who mouth the words of democracy only when it suits our purpose; we believe, and we act on that belief.

At a time when I was beginning to feel ashamed of what America had become there comes this, a shining moment of clarity that says more loudly than any one of us could, "Be proud, stand tall.  You are an American."

The President-Elect has a tall job ahead of him.  But I know for sure he can count on our help.  We just proved it.