Regardless of your political persuasion and ideology it is pretty amazing that a man with the name of Barack Hussein Obama, is about to become the 44th President of the United States of America. The idea that an African-American Man can (and has) won the Presidency is truly something to reflect and marvel at. Regardless of his party label it is something significant to realize that within a generation the United States has been able to move this much on the issue of race relations.
The United States has always struggled with its racist history and if Mr. Obama can simply touch that third rail and provide some amount of healing to our collective culture it will be amazing. I've spent most of the day listening and watching CNN and seeing clips from the civil rights movement some 46 years ago (not that long ago for some of my friends) and hearing about MLK's dream. I think about the generation that was in power back then and the hatred and vitriol that they normalized and sanctified, and wonder about the survivor's today. Are they sitting in their nursing home rooms, being forced to watch the news and seeing all of the inaugural coverage of a black man about to become President and realizing perhaps that they were wrong to dehumanize and discriminate against their neighbours and fellow Americans?
President Obama is not going to be as liberal as I would like him to be; in all honesty he is to the right of Prime Minister Harper on some issues. He won't openly embrace the socialist ideals of European nations, or party platforms like the NDP's and in reality he will govern from the Centre with an occasional dip left AND right to pacifiy everyone, but it's not his ideology that matters...sometimes simply being in the moment matters. For a young African-American child in an inner-city slum they will look up and see their leader look like him, much like little girls saw Hillary during the primaries. That simple act of him being there will change an entire generation of children's hopes and aspirations and allow them to believe in something being possible that was never possible before; and in 40 years they may be running for President and the concept of a black, asian, female, latino/a, or even a gay person as President will no longer be impossible or improbable. Perhaps that, more then even the way he governs will be the best gift President Obama can provide.
So good luck Mr. President, I wish you clarity and guidance, peace and prosperity, an open-mind and an open-heart, and the courage to take the road less travelled and make real change.
~Nikolas
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