Life Can Be Beautiful.

It was only 43 years ago that Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. It was only 143 years ago that Lincoln freed the slaves. Last night, a major political party in the United States nominated a person of African decent for the office of the Presidency. To quote that candidate, “this is our time.”

What does it mean that a person who’s ancestors could have been slaves in this country, could now hold the most powerful office of government in that same country? I truly wouldn’t know. I love history, so I can at best recognize the historical significance. I did not live through the civil rights movement, so I can in no way understand the historical significance. My generation does not fully understand the significance of nominating a Black man for President, and that is perhaps one of the most beautiful things about this country. We don’t see what the big deal is. We don’t hold the belief, as many over the age of 50 do, that race is something to consider when electing politicians. I love my generation. I also love my party. The Democratic Party broke down barriers when it nominated an Irish Catholic for President in John F. Kennedy. We did it again when we nominated Geraldine Ferraro as our Vice-Presidential candidate in 1984, the first woman to ever be considered for the second highest office in the land. We did it yet again when we nominated the first Jewish candidate in Joe Lieberman, and in the last two years, we made a woman the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and very, VERY, nearly nominated a woman for President. This is important. This is historic. No political party in the history of the world has had more respect for, and active pursuit of, minority representation. Though the Republicans call themselves the “Grand Old Party,” our party was founded much earlier, in 1792. Our first President, Thomas Jefferson. We are the history and revolutionary progress of America.

I also love my country. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran said that America would never nominate a Black man to be President. I love proving our enemies wrong. We are better than they. It feels good to show the world that we aren’t the country of George Bush, but rather becoming the country of Barack Obama. We are not a country that will be held down by racism of the past; we will self correct and charge ahead with a new generation that is colorblind. We will come together for our own betterment and the betterment of all mankind, because fundamentally we are good people, and right can yet be on our side.

John McCain had best be shaking in his boots. There are movements afoot, except that it is more than a movement; it is a revolution. To quote one of the worst movies ever made, “a movement…hence the name…it moves so far, and then it stops. A revolution gets its name by always coming back around in your face.” So John McCain, welcome to the revolution. When I see John McCain barely able to fill a 300 hundred seat conference room with snoring supporters, and mumble out a speech universally considered to be one of the worst in modern history, while Obama packs a 20,000 seat arena with 15,000 more outside clamoring for a view…I say, welcome to the revolution. When the conservative, American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), gives McCain a lukewarm response, and Obama tears the roof down…I say, welcome to the revolution. When McCain’s only strategy is to paint Obama as closer to George W. Bush, the leader of McCain’s own party and the most unpopular President in American history, than McCain himself, when McCain’s policies are 95% identical to Bush’s…I say, welcome to the revolution. I can’t wait for November. Thank God the General Election Campaign has finally begun.

Sometimes the beauty of the world can be so powerful, it can utterly destroy the darkness of the past. A tremor has rocked me in the midst of my sleep, and I feel as though I am about to awake from a great nightmare.

More to Come. Thanks for Caring.