The Morning After...

In celebration and reflection of last nights Obama win, I share with you the following "peace":

For weeks, when I thought of Barack Obama as President, I broke into tears. When I thought of the magnitude of Obama becoming President, I felt astounded.

I was conceived, brought to term and born into a fear filled, violent and hateful world 40 years ago. I was two months old and four months old when the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy occurred.

Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated for believing that humans can be all one. He brought a message of unity and peace, and he was gunned down on the balcony of a "blacks only" motel in Memphis with Jesse Jackson and others by his side. Even if you don't care for him, Jesse Jackson with tears running down his face, was a glorious sight last night. Last night we all watched as MLK's dream came to life. We watched it become the ultimate reality. Anyone who lived through civil rights, anyone who has stood in protest against injustice, anyone who has reached out and helped another human being regardless of differences must feel the magnitude of the historic significance of seeing Barack Obama at that podium on November 4, 2008 as the President-elect of the United States of America accepting the win and beyond that, in all his grace and dignity, give to us one hell of an inspiring speech.

We can breathe a sigh of relief, not only that the nightmare of the past 8 years is finally about to end, that the worst leadership of our countries history is finally over, but that the majority of people in these Untied States have their fists in the air because we are tired of oppression and fear and injustice. We are ready to be inspired, and we are ready to climb out of this fucking hole which became a stinking quagmire 8 years ago.

Obama represents the hope in all of us that maybe we thought was dead, but we knew that there had to be a glimmer. I watch in my son, everyday, the glory of magic and belief and wonder and amazement. I see when a bubble bursts and maybe another little ounce of magic has spiraled away forever. That's how the people of these United States felt. Like everything had spiraled away, but Obama represents our hopes and dreams and wonder and amazement. He empowers us. He inspires us to work and give and share.

And my relief is so huge that tears continue to fill my eyes and run down my cheeks that I can't see the keyboard. I feel so honored to be a witness to this moment in time. My own family had to hide its own African ancestry and deny all gratitude to our ancestors who survived on ships and in slavery. Though his skin was white, my grandfather may have been as much as 1/2 black. He escaped the rural south and passed as white. He could have been hung, and if he had been found out, he would have been hung had he remained in the south. He kept this all a secret from his own wife and, eventually, children, who would have been forced to attend the all black schools.

I am grateful to the people who sacrificed their lives to bring us to this awareness and this moment. I am grateful to my own ancestors who fought everyday just to stay alive when I am sure it may have been easier to just die. I honor them. Though I am deeply saddened that when young, my grandfather could not just "be", I am grateful to him for his courage. A part of my family history is gone forever, never to be known, because of racism.

Last night, watching MLK's dream come to fruition was so glorious, beautiful and enlightening. It is the dawning of new thought process of a new United States and a new world. Every human on this Earth will feel Obama's impact. What a glorious time to be alive!