thoughts on election night/morning

Wow what an awesome ending to an awesome night/morning/campaign! so i watched the election night at this restaurant/bar in jo-burg with anywhere b/w 50-100 people which was really cool. i must admit tho, while watching the results, listening to music, groaning as the dstv(cable) kept shutting off and back on, i grew a bit jealous. cnn kept showing grant park in chicago all night, where barack obama would hold a rally later in the night. they showed a huge stream of people there early, just to get a good view point. but while watching the crowds fill up downtown chicago and then make a mad rush into grant park as they opened the gates, i had my first real moment (i think) where i genuinely missed chicago and wished that i was there. i hope y'all that went took some good pics.

i must say i was completely unprepared for the way i would feel if/when obama actually won. this is probably due to the fact that i never expected him, a black man, to actually get as far as he did. yes, i've admired and followed him since 2004 when he made his speech at the DNC and captured the whole nation with his brilliance, eloquence and idealism. and when he committed to running, i was fully behind him. but still, i couldnt see how a new face on the national scene who hadn't "put in his time" could go on to win the democratic nomination. i liked and respected the clinton, not so much for bill's foreign policies or personal endeavors, as much as for the same qualities that i saw in obama - the ability to motivate, inspire and lead. because of bill, i figured hillary was unstoppable. even after obama won the democratic nomination, i could still see a clear path the defeat, given the republican attack machine or the democrats amazing abilities to screw things up majorly. so all this to say that when john king on cnn could not map out a way for mccain to win, even in the early stages of voting results or when they started passing out the champaign and glasses at the restaurant, i vehemently rejected the notion, claiming it wasn't over till the magic number (electoral votes) said it was over (regardless of what the "magic wall" said).

and when, around 5:30 or 6AM south african time, cnn announced the california had closed their polls and the state (obviously) had been put in the obama column, pushing obama past the magic #, i was simply stunned. i think my first reaction was silence for about 2 seconds. then silence turned into jubilation as the screaming reached fever pitch and people grabbed whatever they could to make some noise and let all the neighbors know that "amerrricans were in da haus", and everyone started hugging each other. then the jubilation, for others, turned into tears of joy, of hope. that's when i decided to leave; i figured i had just enough time, if i left immediately, to make it home and catch obama as he made his acceptance speech. i dont think ive ever made it home from this part of town as fast as i did this morning.

as i drove home, i listened to some radio commentators speak about the election and heard some of mccain's concession speak (and regained respect for the man, after a nasty as hell campaign). but there was still something missing, i had no emotion attachment to it. this was a black man, just elected by white people to lead them in one of the most trying of times. to be the leader of the "free world".

getting home i immediately tuned on to cnn minutes before obama began speaking. i saw a couple cnn commentators, black, recount what this means to them. they of course invoked names such as frederick douglas, rosa parks, martin luther king, and many others that had paved the way for something like this to happen; barack obama's name, regardless of what he does as president, could now be included in that list. i watched as they couldnt finish their sentences and the camera panned away to avert too much embarrassment. then obama began:

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."

The camera panned to the audience. white, black, latino, asian, men, women, children had one thing in common (probly more than one actually): they were mostly crying. then the screen went to the ebenezer church in atlanta. most people crying. then the camera found oprah. she was crying. and finally it rested on the rev jesse jackson. he was weeping. never mind what jesse jackson has become lately, but from the 60s to the early 90s, he was a champion for civil rights within the us as well as outside (as one of the staunchest us critics to the then sa apartheid regime). i am a grown man (well at least sometimes), but i'm not afraid to admit that that frame of jesse jackson did it for me. I could no longer hold back the emotions. i felt tears running down my face. why this emotion? was i witnessing the second coming of jesus or something? absolutely not, i realized at that moment that i wasn't tearing for the man. i doubt many people were. i hadn't adamantly followed his campaign because of him. rather, it was what he stood for and what he meant. in obama, the candidate, you could not only view the prospects of tomorrow, but also the pains of the past. this is why i think jesse jackson was weeping.

i cannot claim to understand what slavery or institutionalised discrimination or separation or apartheid was like. i never went through any of those times. i only know from what i've read and watched and heard people speak about. that 40yrs after mlk was assassinated and segregation was outlawed and only a bit more than 100yrs after slavery was made illegal, a black man could be chosen to lead a white nation - a nation with the most influence on earth - was something i never thought i would see - simply an act of god. i think obama tried to play down the historic aspect of this election, but it was clear without him saying a word. u saw it in the faces of those old enough to remember, those who had never voted because they didnt think it would count, because they believed they would be shut out cuz america doesnt care about the black vote, and those who couldnt look their children in the eye and tell them they could truly be anything they wanted to be, because they didnt think it was true. now they know. the past pains have brought us to this moment, when americans of all races can be confident that with hard work, the sky really is the limit. now, im not so naive to think that this is the end of institutionalised barriers for people of colour, but my goodness, what a giant step in the right direction!

in obama, i saw not the man, but what he stood for: the embodiment of what so many fought for (not to be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character), the promise of the future, the future of children, the future of america (the immediate impact and improvement that this election made on the world stage cannot be under-emphasized), and the hope that though there were still real and difficult challenges to face, americans were (for one night at least) united (at least 52% of them!), inspired, and motivated; ready to be challenged yet again to seek what they can do for their country and not simply what their country can do for them. obama will disappoint. he will fail, at least once. but we should never forget the impact that this election (whether in the symbolic sense or in the practical sense) had on whites, blacks, browns, peaches, beiges, and tons of foreigners.

president barack obama...thats gonna take a while to get used to.