President-elect Barack Obama becomes the President of the United States today. There is much hope that it will signify a dramatic change in America, as so many are hoping that the inauguration will mark the start of something better.
One comment that stuck with me over the hype of the past week or two, is that this historical moment is the black person’s equivalent of Man walking on the Moon: Everyone remembered where they were, what they were doing and who they were with, when Neil Armstrong trod on the Moon.
Today, hopefully, everyone, regardless of colour, will remember where they are and who they are with when Obama gets the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It is an important day for all of us.
Looking ahead, there will be mistakes, missteps and quite possibly some truly daft ideas that come forward. Times are strange and to find the right answer, you have to sift through the dross to find the diamonds. As long as the successes outnumber the failures, we’re ahead of the curve.
Maybe this time we (the collective we) won’t screw it up. There aren’t many chances left.
To close, there is nothing more appropriate than this quote from Dr. King.
"Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring—when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children—black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics—will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
RoadDave 