Barack Obama must be

congratulated on his achievement. There are very few men who could rise to this stature from any background, much

less as a member of a minority group. Agree or disagree with his policies or ideology, we have to recognize the

importance of what he's managed to do, which is to be the first to overcome what has been - all too recently - a

cultural bias against anyone not white and privileged.

Its less than 50 years ago that I remember seeing a

"white only" water fountain in a drug store in rural North Carolina. I remember forced busing of black kids into

the Virginia school system where I went to high school, and hearing talk about "bringing in trouble". They were

right, there was trouble.

Now we have a President who may not have been a part of this ugly past, but has become

a symbol of what's been overcome. Many young people who voted for Obama have no clue about what his election

means. But there are many Americans who suffered the awful stigma of race who can now celebrate a kind of

coming-of-age, the arrival of a welcoming national sensibility in the same country which enslaved their

fathers.

This has as much, if not more, to say about America as a Democracy. One can gush about freedom and

opportunity and seem naive. One can also speak about and believe these things and be right. There's no shame in

patriotism, and it need not be blind. The things that make one proud to be part of a country that gives opportunity

equally necessarily grows from trials and failures. Its a testament to the world that America has formerly denied,

and now given this opportunity.

There's no lack of criticism and sarcasm that could accompany this post, most of

which I've already though of. I just wanted to feel good for a few minutes, and honestly so.