The Dawning of a New Day in America
It truly is a new day for an old guy in America. Half a century ago I would have scoffed at the possibility, yet I have lived to see it happen. We have come a long way during my lifetime and we still are far from perfect but the progress we've made is remarkable.
I have written about having to get up from my seat in a bus headed from Columbus, Georgia to Atlanta so a black woman and her two children could get aboard. And about having to slump down in my seat as a black sergeant drove me from Fort Benning into Columbus on a number of occasions. He was concerned that otherwise he could be in trouble.
But yesterday Americans elected a black president. We have traveled that far in fifty-six years. The accident of birth in itself isn't cause for pride, yet today I feel a return of pride that has been missing from my life for too long. I'm proud of America, proud of Ohio and proud of Indiana. I'm proud of the people who looked beyond the color of a man's skin and saw and heard something inspirational. I'm especially proud of the often-defamed and derided young people of America because they have moved beyond the old prejudices that still abide in the hearts of many of their elders. Beyond even that, I'm proud of those elders who cast aside the old and decadent ways, a task that was far from easy for them.
So now we start down a path laden with obstacles. Each of them can be overcome if we really try, if we ignore the scoffers who stand on the sidelines and yearn for the return of the dark days and darker nights. In many ways today brings to mind the change that took place in America when I was a boy of seven and Franklin D. Roosevelt took the helm of a country in the depths of despair. His mere presence gave men and women courage to drive ahead and his words offered inspiration that ensured the overwhelming problems of the Great Depression would be overcome. It wasn't easy then and it won't be easy now, but this old guy once again believes that despite the harping of the inevitable critics we will take one step at a time until we have reached the goal of a better world with better values and a feeling of pride that is earned, not inherited.
I have written about having to get up from my seat in a bus headed from Columbus, Georgia to Atlanta so a black woman and her two children could get aboard. And about having to slump down in my seat as a black sergeant drove me from Fort Benning into Columbus on a number of occasions. He was concerned that otherwise he could be in trouble.
But yesterday Americans elected a black president. We have traveled that far in fifty-six years. The accident of birth in itself isn't cause for pride, yet today I feel a return of pride that has been missing from my life for too long. I'm proud of America, proud of Ohio and proud of Indiana. I'm proud of the people who looked beyond the color of a man's skin and saw and heard something inspirational. I'm especially proud of the often-defamed and derided young people of America because they have moved beyond the old prejudices that still abide in the hearts of many of their elders. Beyond even that, I'm proud of those elders who cast aside the old and decadent ways, a task that was far from easy for them.
So now we start down a path laden with obstacles. Each of them can be overcome if we really try, if we ignore the scoffers who stand on the sidelines and yearn for the return of the dark days and darker nights. In many ways today brings to mind the change that took place in America when I was a boy of seven and Franklin D. Roosevelt took the helm of a country in the depths of despair. His mere presence gave men and women courage to drive ahead and his words offered inspiration that ensured the overwhelming problems of the Great Depression would be overcome. It wasn't easy then and it won't be easy now, but this old guy once again believes that despite the harping of the inevitable critics we will take one step at a time until we have reached the goal of a better world with better values and a feeling of pride that is earned, not inherited.
posted by Dick Stodghill | 11/05/2008 11:19:00 AM
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The most powerful and influential democracy in the world has spoken.
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