I’ve had an interesting time watching people react to this election as it relates to race.  For people who are my parents age and who grew up in the 50′s and 60′s this is a major advancement and all said, this is the Dream that MLK had for this country.  The HUGE significance of electing the first African American to the highest office in the country is not at all lost on me.  That said,  I never had to grow up with direct racial disparity present in my daily life (that is not to say I have not felt other types of disparity in my life), I had never been told or taught by any relative or teacher old or young that there was ever any difference between me and my African American schoolmates.  All of us knew that race was an issue for some people in this country and much time was spent learning how race relations developed throughout history in this country.  Growing up, my generation was likely one of the first to experience what might be referred to by our parents as full integration without incidents (we had no sit-in’s, no police protections, no riots like they did) but to me and my peers the full presence of African Americans in our lives was simply every day life.  It was reality and it was normal.   I see Obama as a figure that can say to the older generation – we’ve made it to a point in history in this country where you can feel very proud of the good fight you have fought and will continue to fight.  It is no accident that Obabma was able to take the oath of office, he is a direct reflection of the important battles that my parents generation won.  Obama is a great African American but Obama will be remembered because he was/is an American first.

My generation will likely see other minorities elected to high office.  It’s quite likely that within 20 years we will see the first female President.  I suspect it will be 30 or more years before this country sees a Gay man or woman in high office but I don’t for a minute believe that such a thing is impossible, I think it is very possible.  That optimistic thinking right there is a significant change from the generation before me who grew up thinking those things were not possible in their lifetime which is why I think this election has had such an impressive impact on so many people.  I think ultimately though none of that really matters.  It’s not the color of your skin, it’s not your gender, it’s not your sexuality, it’s not your name which makes you a great person or a great leader.  It is how you treat everyone else in your life that matters.  It’s about how you use your abilities and your talents to better the country or the world.  It’s about not allowing anyone else to ever tell you what you can and can’t be for arbitrary reasons.  Success is not measured by your physical characteristics or your gender, it is measured by your ability to be the best person you know how to be for the entirety of your life.

I hope that we are able as a country to expand on the progress we have made, that we can take human relationships to the next level and then the next after that.  We all have to live on this planet and we can only better ourselves by remaining optimistic about everything and everyone around us.  I know many times, especailly on this blog I am not terriably optimistic about our human condition but overall, I’m happy to be living in this era and I know many others are as well.