Inspired and Happy

I am happy... very happy. My mom called last night in tears after listening to Obama's speech and talking about the civil rights work she and my Dad did long ago and far away as grad students in Nashville, Tennessee. Both my parents were raised in the deep south in families who were basically racist at a time when it was the norm for white folks to be so (perhaps especially poor-ish white folks, which they all were). But my parents both felt early on the basic injustice of racism and as young adults, spoke out, demonstrated and shared Martin Luther King Jr's vision of racial equality.

For longtime Southern civil rights activists, this must indeed feel extra amazing and hopeful... But Obama's appeal for me has relatively little to do with that aspect of him. He just brims with integrity and intelligence - and this is the first president I've ever voted for that had those qualities in the quantities and ratios that perfectly suited my taste...

And I loved this quote about Obama from Hendrick Hertzberg, which may very well not be what brought folks to the polls, but it will hopefully serve him and all of us well throughout his presidency:

"The truth is that Obama is the only candidate in the 2008 election who thinks seriously enough and analytically enough to be considered either a conservative or a liberal."

But these words from Obama's speech spoke to me loudest, hinting at a radical shift in the tone and content dominating the American national political scene. About time is all I can say...

"As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends... Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection." And, to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president, too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world — our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and 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 America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight, we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from 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."