Proud and Hopeful

I rarely use words like "proud" and "hopeful" when speaking of political matters. More often words like "idiots", "shameful" and "greedy" come out of my mouth. But today, I'm proud of the United States of America.

It's not politically correct to say you're not proud to be an American under any circumstances, but I'm not a politician, so I can be honest. There are many times that, while being thankful for my citizenship and the blessings that come with it, I am not proud of my countries actions.

Last night however, my heart swelled and my eyes moistened as we elected our first African American President. Whether you voted for him or not, please don't let the historical significance of this moment pass you by without considering how far we've come as a country. Senator McCain mentioned it last night and President Bush made mention of it again in his speech this morning. Think about where we were just 4 decades ago. Could anyone have imagined even then that we'd elect a black president in our lifetime. Go back another 10 years and the answer is certainly no.

Maybe I'm just getting swept up in the excitement. Perhaps I'm guilty of drinking the kool-aid. But I do feel hopeful today. I'm hopeful that change will do us good. I'm hopeful that our new Commander-in-Chief will be as successful in office as he was on the campaign trail. I'm hopeful that my children will not in any way relate to the bigotry of their grandparents generation. Yes, I'm hopeful.

One of my favorite moments last night was during McCain's concession speech. One network showed the crowd gathered in Chicago's Grant Park. On my screen appeared a group of young people who were there (according to their t-shirts) to celebrate Obama's historic win. When the Republican candidate appeared on the big screen set up in the park, these young, excited citizens stopped and respectfully listened to Senator McCain. It was a simple moment that reminded me that if we would just respectfully listen to each other we could learn so much and get so much more done.

So yes, I'm proud and I'm hopeful, two emotions that are often difficult to come by when politics are involved.