"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."
Barak Obama, November 4, 2008
Barak Obama’s election as America’s 44th president is truly a grand victory for anyone who cares for peace and social justice. I don’t have to repeat here the great significance of not only an African-American elected president, but the fact that it took white votes to make it happen. November 4 was a day to be proud to be American. When is the last time any of us who have been working for a more just America been able to say such a thing?
At stake was more than just a choice between Obama or McCain. We had before us a choice as to what kind of America we want our country to be. In that regard, this may have been the most important election since Lincoln. The Obama America is one that celebrates diversity, a country whose government works for all its people and not the most wealthy, a country that plays well with others on the world stage where words like “diplomacy” and “cooperation” are not epithets.
McCain’s America would have been an escalation of W.’s narrow vision of a parochial nation, where fear trumps trying to understand the “other,” an Orwellian dystopia of paranoia and control. McCain was adamant about making America an even more powerful superpower (i.e., bully), and his election would have balkanized the world, strengthening the paradigms of “us” vs. “them.” It is an out-dated vision that deserves the death it received.
Will we who seek peace and social justice get everything we hope for in the Obama government? Probably not. No sitting on our laurels for us. But we can take heart that the better vision of America emerged from this election. Our work may not be done, but it will have to be easier than it’s been since Ronald Reagan started our country down the path of never ending war and economic implosion. We have our work ahead of us. The clean up alone may take a generation. But it will be good work. And I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that at long last, I have hope regained.
