Hope Wins

History has been made! The first African American President, Barak Obama is elected. In this time of war and economic crisis, Obama has inspired a generation. It wasn’t too long ago that most American had never heard of him. But to hear his speeches you quickly realize that this man is special and will do great things. He already has. First he got the entire country excited about the election for the first time in many years. More people voted; even more adults voted for the very first time. More college students voted and got involved and more African Americans voted. It is hard to believe that it was just over forty years ago African Americans didn’t have the right to vote. We all know who Martin Luther King, JR. was. We studied him in school. He have heard his “I had have a dream speech.” We all know about the civil rights movement, and we celebrate Martin Luther King Day every year. But until this election it really didn’t hit me not only how far we have come, but that it wasn’t long ago that African Americans Couldn’t vote. It didn’t hit me that it was in my parent’s life time not my grandparents’ life time. If Martin Luther King had lived he could have seen how all his work and dreams have been realized. Not only can African Americans vote, they can be President. It was amazing to see the reaction from people around the country when Obama won. To see grown men cry was moving. To hear African American women say that now they can tell their children that they really can grow up to be whatever they want. To see every color, every religion standing side by side cheering was inspirational. Martin Luther King’s dream has truly been realized. This country is united and ready to move forward. And finally to see people from other countries all over the world cheer and be excited can only give us hope for a better world. It was time for change and time for this country to hope again. This is a great day to be an American.