Obama Delivers Hope

This article first appeared in the Staunton Newsleader on August 29, 2008

It was a dynamic time for this troubled nation. America's history pages are littered with unrest and incivility — indeed a lengthy war in which the country was ripped apart, then gradually but bitterly sewn back together.

The Civil War ended in 1865, along with the brutal practice of slavery, but the bloodshed for the civil rights of black Americans didn't end for another 100 years. Freedom wasn't yet even a dream, only a whisper of one.

In August 1963, Barack Obama had just turned 2, living with his family in Hawaii. That year, his father, an economist from Kenya, would leave his mother. Though he was the black son of a single white mother, young Barack never understood that freedom was barely a dream. He never imagined that his achievement would be limited by anything other than his own ability and drive.

He was born a believer in what the Rev. Martin Luther King shouted out on Aug. 28, 1963 — the dream of liberty. Black Americans allowed themselves to grab hold of the dream. Freedom for all. The right to achieve. The right even to pursue the highest office in the land. Thursday night, we saw another dynamic time for this still-troubled nation. Americans of all colors, creeds and religious beliefs shared a moment that lifted us above past rancor and prejudice.

For a moment, while Obama accepted the Democratic Party's nomination for the office of president of the United States, generations of Americans saw the dream come alive. For a moment, when Obama told us we must restore our common purpose, our differences slipped away.

For a moment, when Obama said this election is not about him, but that it's about us, we believed him.

Yes, for a moment we caught a glimpse of what this great nation can be, when a man or woman of any race can dare to dream of leading America, when young children can dare to want what once seemed impossible, when we recognize and celebrate our diversity as well as our similarities.

Forty-five years ago, King spoke dynamic words to a troubled nation. "We cannot walk alone."

Thursday night, Obama's dynamic words were enough to soothe a still-troubled nation, but it was with a call to action.

"We cannot turn back, not with so much work to be done." Obama's moment was tremendous, but a moment is not enough.

<>There is too much work to be done.