Letting It Sink In

When I think of the events that occurred on Tuesday, my first reaction is to attempt to cage the disbelief running circles in my head. How do I wrap my head around this thing? Did it really happen?

I find myself instinctively flipping my TV to CNN in moments of quiet at home. When I walk past the newspaper stands on the way to my car in the morning, their curious emptiness turns the corners of my mouth up into a wide smile. The images pervade. The thought of this new moment in history consumes me.

Let me tell you what I have learned from all of this. While my heart aches over the last eight years in our country, I am grateful for the clarity it has brought in its wake. Clarity so strong, it compelled a country to change.

I have never been more proud to be an American, on Tuesday, today, tomorrow. The pride I feel as that overwhelms me.

The way our nation has come together and the speed of our unity amazes me. It gives me faith in humanity and restores my trust in democracy. The faceless masses across the USA and around the world have united. They need no faces, they have one, and in it is the proud reflection of the United States -- disabled, but determined.

The capacity I see for hope overwhelms me. It transcends race and ethnicity, wealth and poverty, cultural diversities and border lines. If apathy is the new poison, then hope is its antidote. Barack Obama knew before any of us that hope could change the world.

And as I stare into the open face of possibility this nation gives me reason to believe we've only just begun to fight.

So continue to let freedom ring America, trust in the fact that the rest of the world has heard us.

Find out what's in store for Americans here.

An Email From My Good Friend Across the Pond

GO OBAMA!!!

Congratulations to you and THANK YOU for all your hard work! I am proud to be an American living abroad - not an ex-pat! No longer will I be the ambassador of a country that I dont even understand - I can know hold my head high and say with pride that America has made the right decision - for its own people, and for the world.

I was sitting in a waiting room this morning at 9am today in a culturally-mixed area of West London - a woman walked in and pointed at the man behind the desk (she a west Londoner, in him I detected a slight African accent of type) and said "All I have to say is OBAMA", to which he said "It's not just history my friend, it's a new dawn".

These are the conversations happening in the most banal of locations in places which are typically considered unrelated to the election of a US president. But you see just how much this election has affected everyone, and injected everyone with hope.

There is more work to do of course, and I would hope that this spurs us all on to continue to make changes in our lives and how we consider our power as individuals and collectively. We are all a part of America, and when 75% of America gets out and votes, it is clear exactly who has been in the minority all this time - those who have dominated politics for the last 50,100, 200 years.

We brought about this change, each one of us...I am very proud of us all today.


GO OBAMA!!!