This nation is deep in the process of redefining itself.
For so many years, we have been burdened by the horrors of a history that included slavery, a recent past that boiled with segregation and discrimination and a present that still includes those who hate based on anything that makes a person different than them.
As a member of a multi-racial family, I am in a position to say that this last portion of the population is greater than many would believe. There are good-hearted individuals who simply don’t see the discrimination that still exists or the slights that are dealt to persons of color, different religions or sexual orientations on a regular basis.
However, since the election of President Barack Obama, the great majority of Americans have rejoiced in the fact that now we have risen above this ugly quagmire of past and present.
There is a prevailing sense of unreality at times, as though we are simply watching this happen on a television series – “24” come to life. Part of that is probably the inundation by the media; Obama’s picture is everywhere. But the thoughts and questions still seem to hang in the air. Really? No way! Really? We are still collectively pinching ourselves.
It is real. I will always remember the sea of crying and jubilant faces that watched in Grant Park on election night as Obama made his acceptance speech. That mass of people was as racially diverse a group as this country is ever likely to see again. How wonderful is that? We were able to experience pride and joy in ourselves as a country and as a people.
As the reality sets in and President Obama becomes the ingrained leader of our country, and not just our first black president, so hopefully will our self-image become less strident and conflicted. Hopefully, we will be able to accept ourselves as a nation that can overcome anything, eventually, and is no longer the stepchild of Liberty, but one of her direct descendants.
