It is indeed a special moment for the country, that is considered a “Melting Pot” of immigrants from many nations, come together to vote for the 44th President of the Unites States of America & our very first Black President, Barack Obama. I feel honored and proud to have been part of this change in my very first opportunity to exercise my right as a citizen. For as long as I have lived here, I have always seen & experienced that nothing matters in this nation as long as you have the will to succeed, or as Obama has re-iterated many time in his campaign “Yes, we can”. He inspires millions and I am very much among those millions he inspired. His victory speech was testimonial to how influential he can be with his thoughts and opinions.
Watching his unprecedented win gives me hope. Hope that some day we can set aside racial, religious, gender differences and forge ahead as human beings to a better & safer world. If the land that needed a Martin Luther King Jr. to fight the eradication of slavery & racial discrimination can unanimously vote for a Black President , I have hope that the nation that birthed Mahatma Gandhi will one day also accept that discrimination of any kind is unhealthy & detrimental to the success of the nation. The day we stop looking at each other as Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Brahmins or non, Tamil, Telugu, Maratis, Gujarathis or whatever be the background and look at one another as fellow citizens, is I truly hope not a distant dream. I hope that just as I had the opportunity to watch this history in the making in this country that has wrapped her warm arms around me; I see something similar happen in home away from home as well.
As I write this I wonder what the landscape will look like when my kids are grown and think back to these times. Just as they can’t fathom simple things like mom spending many years of her childhood without telephone, television or computers, I hope they won’t take all they have enjoyed in their lives for granted and will know to appreciate the simple yet significant pleasures in their lives. Here’s hoping many more such moments in our future.
Congratulations to the new President and hoping that he delivers on his promises.
