A GOOD DAY TO BE AN AMERICAN

By Debbie Bulloch

Today is an especially good day to be an American. With the inauguration of Barack Obama as the country’s 44th President we as a nation, have finally collected on that promise made long ago - that all men are created equal. If a black American can be elected President, then the doors are wide-open for any person, regardless of gender or race, to also become President of this country. If there was ever any doubt that America is the land of opportunity, then Obama’s election to the highest office in the land should silence the doubters.

I wanted to stay home today to watch the inauguration ceremonies, and especially to watch Obama deliver his inaugural speech. But I had meetings to attend to at work, so off to work I went. As I drove to my office I wondered what kind of mood my co-workers would be in. Well, I did not have to wonder for long. As soon as I walked through the front door I was approached by a co-worker who gave me a huge hug and said, in a voice I had not heard her use in a very long time, “Oh Debbie I am so happy today!”

I hugged her back and I told her how we were all happy for our new President and for our country.

Then she added, “Debbie, when my mom was a little girl she had to ride on the back of the bus. She used to tell me that some day we would have a black President, but I just never believed that I would ever see the day.”

Then with tears in her eyes she added, “I only wish mom had lived to see this day.”

The rest of my co-workers were equally excited about today’s events. It was as if, at least temporarily, a new wave of optimism had swept through the office.

Obama’s election has infused the country with a sense of hope – the country is on the grips of a new “can do” attitude. This is exactly the kind of “medicine” that we need at this time.

The U.S. is not a perfect country – far from it. Prejudice still abounds, people still go hungry, there are still homeless people sleeping on the streets of our biggest and richest cities and we are still involved in foreign entanglements of dubious nature. Even in the midst of massive problems, however, we are still optimistic about our future as a people and as a nation – that is because we are not afraid to confront the worst in us and work on fixing it.

Our generosity defines us as a nation and gives us the strength to keep moving forward. Our detractors (they are legion) like to minimize America’s generosity and, instead, accuse us of having ulterior motives. In response, I ask them to look at the many examples of American generosity and our capacity to make sacrifices for others.

In the darkest days of World War II, when all hope seemed to have been lost, America sent war material, food and supplies to assist our European brothers and sisters resist the advances of Nazi Germany. When that was not enough, and Europe seemed lost to a madman hell-bent on imposing his will on the rest of the world, America looked inward at its best resource, its people, and without hesitation or pre-conditions we sent our young men to fight and die in foreign soil so that one man would not enslave the rest of the world.

When natural disasters devastate other parts of the world, America digs deep into its pocket to help ease the suffering. Time and time again, after every major natural disaster, America’s planes have flown to the crisis area to deliver much needed relief.

Just recently, the often-demonized President Bush was credited with orchestrating the single, biggest assistance package to help end the scourge of AIDS in the African continent. American have not allowed our own precarious financial situation to get on the way of assistance to our African brothers and sisters.

And now we have elected, for the first time in our nation’s history, a black American to lead us during these troubling times. I look around at the rest of the world and we are the only industrialized nation to elect a President who is only one generation removed from a dusty village in a Third World country. That alone, is enough reason to put a smile on my face.

Regardless of the kind of President that Obama may eventually turn out to be, today I am proud to be an American. We have turned an important corner in our nation’s quest to fulfill the promises of its birth.

Today is indeed a good day to be an American!