What a bold and emphatic statement the American voters just made! We have elected Senator Obama as our next leader, and have done so with the sound of thunder and the power of a flood. The orators and leaders of our past-- Douglass, Lincoln, King-- each expressed a desire to see equal opportunity truly find expression in society. Their words have finally been transferred into full reality away from the realm of philosophical deferment. Our nation has conjured with our collective will more than a milestone, we have illuminated a beacon of historic light. All of our past struggles have led us here, and what follows will be filtered through this new reality. In our efforts to secure our own civil rights, we always have looked for tangible signs and evidence that progress is being made. The famous firsts have been recorded and repeated and revised again and again, but still racial inequity has been the rule of the land in nearly every arena of public life.
What greater example of social progress is there than what we now have manifested in our highest national office? How many millions of children have been told by the well-meaning adults of the world that anything, even becoming president, is within reach if you just apply yourself? Now those words have been granted a bit more credence. Many writers and commentators will try now to be dismissive of a racial issue in this election. They will claim that race did not play a significant role in the outcome. But to do this diminishes the impact that this country's decision must now manage. The time is now to push harder than ever to erase the racial inequities that plague our society. We are running out of excuses.
Our new leader may possibly face the toughest future of any previous president. Expectations have been raised like never before, and so the pressure to fulfill the promises of two years of campaigning will be immense.
Where will our new leader take us?
Kyrie eleison.
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