Thank you God for answering the prayers of so many as you helped Barack Obama become the First Black President of the United States last night. You have fulfilled one promise, that has been lingering in the balance for over 40 years. So thank you for this blessing that is just that in the lives of millions around the world....
As for all of us who cried tears of joy last night as we watched history taking place: Don't let his Victory reign in Vain... I'm telling you now that last night was one of the happiest, most proud, and humbling moments of my life. Barack Obama is the direct insult to anyone who ever told you that you couldn't do something. As he said in his speech...
"This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old. She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can. At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can. When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can. When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can. She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can. A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can. 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; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?"
We must keep these historic, timeless, and purpose-filled words with us each day, as we engage in the dealings of our lives from this moment on. No longer should we allow the excuses of old, especially for the black race to stop us from doing anything we set our minds to do. We are no longer just given the archetype of "yeh, we're some good basketball players, or dominate the rap and music industries, or have great prominent movie stars, or what have you." Now, we have a divine exemplification, and representation of a dream come true, and the highest office in this Nation. A Nation with years of heartache, slavery, violence, discrimination, segregation, prejudice, and hate, last night slapped it's own history in the face. Last night, one man, a black man united people of all ethnic backgrounds, walks and creeds. We all came together because we believe in better days to come, and we have our faith in God that this man, Yes he's a black man, but he's also a bi-racial man, a Godly man, and good man, that he can lead us there.
A text message was being sent around saying "Rosa sat so Martin could march. Martin marched so Obama could run. And Obama runs so our children can fly.." Don't let the failed flights of our children fall on our shoulders. We must all remember how last night made us feel. We must work hard to continue that spirit of unity and understanding, of purpose and promise to dedication, equality, progress, and prosperity. We must not let His Victory, Our Victory, be in vain by continuing to create low expectations for ourselves and aspire no more than what we have already become when the bar has now been set so high. Raise the standard of your life, and others will have no choice to rise with you to meet that standard; and the world will be farther ahead in the process. In the words of Gandhi, "Be the Change you wish to see in the world".. We all became that change these past months as we all did our part to make this day possible. All of our collective efforts made this possible. But we must continue that drive. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "I can never be what I ought to be, until you are what you ought to be--we are all inter- connected in life.."
So lets not just say "well, he won, thats it." No, we must work hard every day to keep Hope alive, and if anyone ever tells you you can't do something, remember how you felt last night, what you saw, and how your efforts helped make it all possible, and tell them, "Yes I can!"
*And just for fun...:
*Hahaha...it's just a joke..made me laugh...(don't get all scared)*
