Congratulations America!

The voters have spoken, and soon President - Elect Obama will take the oath of office and lead our nation into the future. A future that leaves me with a greater sense of hope for and pride in America than at any other time in my adult life. Voter turnout may not have been record breaking, but it was definitely higher than at any time in recent history. No matter which candidate you cast your ballot for, the point is, you did it! Congratulations to all of you who did, and thank you for showing the rest of the world one more reason why American democracy works!!!

I have always been proud of my country, but every once in a while moments occur that remind me why. As I watched the vote totals come in, and the people gathering in celebration around the country, indeed around the world, I couldn't help but think about all that we have gone through to finally get to this place in our history. We fought a civil war over slavery, and it wasn't until a century after it's end that all of our citizens began to finally enjoy the freedoms that their ancestors fought for. As I heard a commentator put it yesterday, "From Gettysburg to Grant park, this country has come a long way!"

Those of you in the "baby boomer" generation should be proud of yourselves and your children. The social movements of the 1960's have finally reached true fruition. Forty years later, Dr. King's dream has become reality. Much has been said of the generation gap in terms of this election. It is true that the young came out in favor of Obama, but issues of age and race were not enough. In order to bring about change, all of us needed to set aside our differences and come together to assure a common victory. If we were not following the paths that our parents showed us, we would not be here today. For our parents were the first ones that helped to show us that difference of skin color, gender, ethnicity, and religion do not dictate who we are. They are only a small part.

I realized that my young niece and nephews are not going to remember this election. Two of them are just turning 4 and one is only a few months old. They will never remember a time when it was not possible for a black man to be the president of the United States. They can grow up knowing that they will truly be able to be anything they want to be! Ask yourself about the kind of world you want to leave for your children, and work to make it a reality as our parents have done for us. Most of all, stay informed and involved cast a ballot in every election because they are all important! Congratulations America! We have indeed come a very long way!!