“…What light through yonder window breaks?”
The world is changing.
Well, it is, in fact, always in a state of flux, but no more is it evident than on days like today.
Before he died, Tupac Shakur once sang that “although it seems heaven sent, we ain’t ready to see a black President.” Whether one believes in a life beyond this one, one can imagine Tupac smiling right now.
Now, Tupac is probably not the kind of person you would expect me to be quoting on this occasion, but I can’t help but consider the anxiety of his music, its frustration, and the occasional flashes of hope – and feel deep regret that he did not live long enough to see this day.
Barack Obama is inheriting a country in turmoil. Our economy has been all but flushed down the toilet, the nation is deeply divided, and our foreign policy has recently been conducted with all the grace of a stumbling drunk at the ballet. There is no telling what the next four years will bring us.
But today we have a reason to hope, if simply because we have come together as a nation and decided to change our course.
As John McCain pointed out in his concession speech: our country has a terrifying history of racism, and racism is still part of the fabric of our society. In Barack Obama, we now have a symbol of how racism can be overcome, or at the very least, beaten down long enough to achieve real evolution (and although Sarah Palin’s political career still looks promising wherein her base is concerned, we now have reason to believe that “evolution” will not become a dirty word any time soon).
We have miles to go before we sleep, but with Obama’s election, the journey takes on a whole new meaning.
Good luck, and God bless.