Welcome to the New America

President-Elect Obama

Well America, I have been at work all day and it would be a travesty to myself if I did not comment on the monumentally historic occurrence that was last evening/this morning.

As of 11pm EST on November 4th 2008, Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States of America. A moment I have thought of since he came in as a Junior Senator of Illinois. I am actually at a loss for words quite honestly on many aspects. There have been few if any times in my life that I have been this passionate about one single cause. And in this particular event I will do my best to explain my thoughts.

My anger has been building for 8 years, my rage has increased exponentially every single year to the point I just wanted to scream. And the moment that I witnessed Obama claim victory over McCain, all of my years of anger focused into one single combusting point and released. The weight of anger that I have carried on my shoulder all this time was finally lifted when I saw my country rise up and take a stand. For the first time in my adult life I witness a nation take note of the countries direction, realize the problem and as one stand up and announce in one voice, “We will be heard, we can make a change, we can rise up, we can unite, it can be better, we can prevail, YES WE CAN!”

It was the most inspirational and proud moment I have witnessed in recent years. The nation truly showed that they are aware, and proved that as one, as long as a dream is there, things can be changed and dreams can come true. (Please Read On)

There is a huge mountain for Obama to climb of course, but in a time of strife, distress and disappointment with what our country has become, we now have a leader that can reach out and pick up a nation. Obama will be carrying the nations weight on His shoulders. And in comparison to recent times, he will be carrying a heftier load than any president before him. Two wars, a nearly if not lost economy, a international world that has come to lose near complete faith in us. Which I must say in regards to the worlds outlook on America, I believe that Obama’s win has stimulated the favorable rating the world has on us. I also believe they have witnessed the resurrection of a New America and the American Dream.

We will not understand for many years to come the importance of last nights occurrence. I do not doubt that emotions throughout the nation, hell the world, has and are erupting beyond description. Even I myself must admit, just as I saw Steven Colbert and John Stewart, shed a tear at the feeling of complete relief and joy at the fact America stood up and spoke as one for their choice and finally followed their heart and sense.

For the last 8 years I have become numb with rage and complete disdain, a feeling that has built up more and more, year after year at the conservative Monsters that have held our Country hostage. And last night the moment I witnessed history in the making and the glowing light grow that much brighter with the announcement of President Barack Obama, I found myself a part of something larger, a part of a group of people that truly adore this country. Truly think that things Can be better, and that we can handle problems in a way that is in accordance with a humanitarian mentality and less like a caricatured Cowboy. I have renewed faith in the direction we now have in front of us. A path has been cleared that points more vividly and directly at a brighter future. The sheer exuberance that built up and exploded from my chest, I could hardly contain. With my excitement I, like many in America and the world I am sure, got restless. I saw Barack win this election and found myself wanting to DO something. Run down the road Cheering, screaming out my excitement, something. I could hardly contain my excitement and wished that I could have been in that crowd in downtown Chicago. But at the same time I felt I was still a part of that crowd. A part of a movement that will from this day on, Never be forgotten.

As I watched the camera pan across that crowd, a crowd of what many estimate as 250,000 plus, as well as the numerous crowds that formed nationwide, I witnessed with astonishment and pride something that was maybe not as breathtaking as Obama himself becoming President, no, but something still beyond the description of words. The view was of a crowd of simply unknowns…. unnamed everyday Americans… people that are just like you and me. Numbers that are beyond understanding in regards to what is defined as a “crowd.” What was even more breathtaking was the humanizing of those we tend to hold higher than “normal”, individuals, like Jesse Jackson, Oprah and a number of other “celebrities” intermingled within the “Common people”. It was amazing to see them in this light, not in the front row, not on stage, but rows back, simply one of the random floating heads in the crowd. Trying just like everyone else to crain their neck over the person in front of them just to get a glimpse of our new leader. A normalizing of those that are considered above normal.

People of all walks of life brought themselves shoulder to shoulder with their fellow American brothers and sisters to be a part of something monumental. This in my opinion was just another example of the unity that is already building and occurring, in what I like to refer to as the New America.

Worldwide cheer erupted, and this too I believe stands stern in our push to bring unity and rebuild our relationship with those outside of our borders. Human beings that in the last eight years, if not longer, have been pushed aside and ignored by our country. But today we see a shimmer of hope that this will be no more.

Something that comes to mind in regards to the sound of the world after this event, is the phrase “The shot hear around the world” being attributed to the beginning of the American Revolutionary war, or known as the American War of Independence. Not pertaining to the violence of a war, but of the principle of our independence. I say a new phrasing of sound should be attributed to this moment. The “Cheer heard around the world“. Because once this news broke, the world erupted in a clear and unified cheer of true bliss and exuberance.

Furthermore, we should also note the following quotes that will forever be remembered.

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.”

“It’s the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.”

“A new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down – we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security – we support you. And to all those who have wondered if Americas beacon still burns as bright – tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.”

“Those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can.”

“While we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism and doubt and those who tell us we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can.”

I believe these are lines that will be recited in the history books for the many years to come. A speech that touched not only those residing on American Soil. It resounded across the world. It touched the hearts of human beings watching ever intently throughout every country on, this, our blue planet. As Aaron Zelinsky stated, I see this speech named in the near future, and appropriately so, the “Arc of History” speech by President-elect Barack Hussein Obama. Just as Martin Luther King, Jr had his “I have a Dream” speech.

I only wish that I live long enough to truly see the impact that this moment has and will have on American History.

This day is not only one of the favorites of my adult life, it is also the day of the year which 24 years ago two people that I hold in the highest regard brought me into this world. It is the day of my birth, and I can honestly say without any doubt in my heart that the announcement of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States is the best gift that I have ever received or even dreamed to receive. No material object could fill the substitution of such a exponentially amazing occurrence. It is the chance for a unified relation of our nation. We have been so utterly separated for so long that it was beyond description and it was seeming to be even beyond reconciliation. And now we have a leader that can truly bring about a change and a unity.

I will leave this with one final note. There is much work to be done and a high hill to climb in order to bring our nation from the depths of this valley. This valley in which our previous President and his Monster-esque cronies have carelessly rolled us into. Ties to be regained, respect to be recaptured… Will it happen in 4 years… some, maybe, but most possibly not… but this is the path that we have needed to step upon for many years, and finally, with the country now standing up and in record numbers Screaming YES WE CAN, we now have a positive direction on a proper path in order to bring about a change that has been begging to occur for many years. And the most positive of this, is the fact that America went double the electoral votes and 6% of the majority of the population favoring a proper change. I think that, in regards to the changes that need to occur, our country has brought itself to a point that, now we can all stand shoulder to shoulder and scream YES WE CAN. And in those words the chance holds a true possibility, just as this election has proven to the world. “We Really and Truly Can”.

“Welcome to the New America”