Barack Obama has won the race. I cried my eyes out. As voting booths closed one by one and votes were tallied, reporters did their best to contain their excitement as each new State went to Obama. Even though I am currently in the Philippines, thousands of miles away from America, the buzz was in the air. Tears streaming down, laughter in the streets and the eruption of cheers from all over the US was heard worldwide.
Though I am American citizen, I've lived nearly all of my life in the Philippines. Not unlike most people in my generation, I reside in the space of the in-between. An identity shared by many is one of a mix-and-match of global goals, blended roots and cross-cultural interconnections. Black, white, growing up in Asia and America—Barack is one of these people. However, more than just a sum of all his parts, his victory shows us that our world has truly changed. The status quo is no longer acceptable. Americans and non-Americans alike gathered together and used the tools of the 21st century to break down walls that had been built by fear, greed and intolerance.
Wherever, whomever and whatever we choose to be, we are linked by the desire for a better future. As his voice boomed over the microphone, the hope that had laid dormant in the hearts of the many who have been disappointed by the war, the economic downfall and the loss of direction, was awakened once again. And boy, did it roar! His words rose up and slowly, the differences that once divided a nation began to be bridged.
As Bob Dylan once crooned in the 1960s, "The times, they are a-changing," but instead of a song of protest, its now one of celebration.
* Originally posted on www.lookingforlola.wordpress.com on 05.11.2008
Comments