I thought I was a cynic. Despite voting for Obama, despite getting caught up in the excitement, I thought I could keep a degree of academic distance – be analytical. Yet, after seeing pictures of African-American voters, tears in their eyes upon learning of his victory, my cynicism was beat down. I got teary-eyed after watching a bit of Obama’s acceptance speech. He said:
America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves –- if our children should live to see the next century… what change will they see? What progress will we have made?
How much is packed into that phrase, “we have seen so much” – how much injustice and suffering have we inflicted, all while living in such great prosperity? And where are we going… this world of ours? How can our future possibly overcome the mistakes of the past? That future may be bleak, but for a moment I’m okay with putting a little faith in humanity. This moment is history, and I’m a part of it. Obama is my generation’s Kennedy. And even more so, he means something to the black community that I will never truly understand.
John Dickerson in Slate:
At the start of his campaign, Obama often concluded his speeches by telling the story of his Senate campaign and how he prevailed in the southern part of Illinois despite its history of antipathy towards blacks. He cited Martin Luther King Jr., who said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” On Tuesday, 221 years after the adoption of a Constitution that allowed slavery to continue, an African-American won the presidency. In Grant Park, as Barack Obama left the stage, you could see that arc bend.
November 11, 2008 at 2:16 pm |
I am totally stoked that Obama will be the next president! I found myself developping a few tears and a lump in my throat as I watched his acceptance speech! Yay Obama!