The election of Barack Obama as our 44th President is a watershed moment in American history!
It marks the fulfillment of Martin Luther King Jr’s dream as expressed at the March on Washington in August 1963. It is also the complete fulfillment of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. It is also the accomplishment of Lyndon Johnson’s pursuit of full equality as represented in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It also represents the sacrifices of many ordinary Americans who suffered discrimination, lack of equal opportunity, and even death fighting for equal rights and human dignity.
No wonder there were signs of national celebration all over America as well as in foreign nations! Tremendous crowds came out in NYC, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and other cities across America and in overseas capitals, as everyone sensed a new beginning and a sense of optimism!
This is the most exciting moment in Presidential election history since John F Kennedy broke the barrier of religion nearly 50 years ago, in the 1960 election. We will be sure to hear from the new President the same message that JFK gave us in his inaugural address: "Ask not what your country can do for you! Ask what you can do for your country!" Hopefully, the ME attitude of the last generation will now be replaced by the idealism and commitment to the nation that JFK promoted a half century ago! It is time for WE, not ME in American politics!