Portrait

Along comes that slight quickening of the heart: the realization that we are living through a moment that will go down in history. Somewhat like watching the WTC come down live on BBC. Kind of like watching as the US begin its air raid on Iraq. Like seeing the monolithic statue of Saddam Hussein crashing to the dust. Our generation has seen a lot in our time.

Like I’ve stated before, I’m not a big fan of Obama. I don’t think he’s the answer. I don’t expect that everything will go from wrong to right overnight. I don’t believe he’s the superhuman, perfect leader we’ve all been waiting for that will save the world. There is no such person. There cannot be.

But what this means is that there is hope.

There is hope, that over time, a lot of time no doubt, that the people of the world can open its minds and hearts to one another. There is hope that over time, everyone will be equal in opportunity and rights. There is hope, that over time, all will be well. It is only an inkling, a mere sliver of hope…but now, it is there.

My cynicism doesn’t stop me from realizing the full and deep impact that this victory will have on the world and most of all, on America. It has, more than anything else, served as proof that America can change, and that it has, indeed, over the years. I can only imagine how it must feel for all African-Americans, how it must feel for every group of society in the world that have remained marginalized for centuries because of a country that pushed them to the ground with conservative values and political imperialism.

This is a momentous day for everyone. Not because he’s black. Not because he’s liberal or a Democrat. But because America actually voted. They voted for a most un-American man. America voted for a way forward in the modern world. More Americans than almost ever before, turned up and voted for a man they thought no one would be able to relate to. In the most high turn-out election since the 1960s, every American had their voice heard. He turned red states into blue states and compelled millions more Americans than ever before to step out and use their vote.

America voted for a progressive, mature way to begin remedying the mess mankind has collectively created over the years.
And that’s what it means. That the world’s most powerful nation will be run henceforth by an unusual candidate: one who seems likely to deal with problems with pragmatism and intelligence, not war and bloodshed; one who is likely to face adversity that will undoubtedly come in all forms, with composure and care, not vengeance and insecurity.

And he’s young: this maybe the best part of all. Often I have wondered whether the real problem was the fact that countries are being run by old fogies, who were brought up in a very different era with very different values. I wondered whether in this day and age, the ideal leader would have to be young to be truly progressive. Whether he or she would have to be young to be truly in-tune with our needs and situation today.

This young man represents what America had been isolating itself from all these years: a world that is moving on. Around America, the world has moved on in soul and spirit. America can now step into the young, modern world, and come out of that old-fashioned, backward shell that they were wallowing in.

He changed the way Americans vote; let’s hope he can change the world.