it's all still happening...getting used to hope?

a week in and the signs are still up
the name is still resounding
with glee
the usual world is still
on its way in a hand basket
yet people everywhere
seem to not be that phased
because they know what is happening

our man was seen hobnobbing at the whitehouse
today...

and that alone
is hope incarnating...

this is no longer a time for hope to be deferred
for 8 long years we have been waiting
for this time
for some of us we have been waiting since 1968
and some since nov. 22 1963...

we have a future
again
that looks brighter
than our past...
for the first time since
that dreadful night
the supreme court announce
they were giving the presidency
to the unelected gov. of Texas...

the first time...

it's amazing how the global consensus
is in already...
no need to wait for the hindsight of history
the present administration and its sorry cast
is loathed and reviled
by enough of the world
for us all to feel the elation and jubilence
at its democratic demise...

but the great thing about this moment is
not only is it that we get to get rid of
and shake off the freaking yukkyness...
but...
we also get to have
just a human being
with obvious integrity
in the office of the presidency
of the United States...

now from the reactions of the world
and the immediate headlines
the media seems to have
initially couched the story as:
"first black president"

from the first moments
that magnificent night
as i searched the web for his victory speech
from the front seat of my bus
parked on a street in "the Valley"
and at first saw the headlines
"First Black President "
i was actually surprised
and thought they had all missed the point
i've been meaning to write this since then
& as the days have gone by
what i've seen has only served to inspire
me more to get it down as the moment passes...
so here is my two cents:

for me as a person of 3 racial bloodlines
the significance of this election
of Obama wasn't about race...
it was about the quality of a person
triumphing for us all at a time
when we all ..the whole world
really needed for the best man,
the best person
to win...
so we could finally
begin to live up to our potential
and our ideals...as a people...as a nation
and as a true beacon
as the best and brightest humanity has to offer
yes
as "...the last best hope..."
at this critical of critical moments...

there are those who may see
this as the story of
the triumph over race prejudice
another giant step in this country
healing itself of
the undeniable truth
that America was built on slavery
(both the Whitehouse and capitol building
were both built by enslaved Africans
and African-Americans)
and the inherent hypocrisy
of "the founding fathers"
creating a nation state
based on liberty and justice for all
except those they owned and enslaved...
which led to the horrors
of the civil war and the klan
and the lynchings, fire-hoses,
and the illegality at risk of death
of my ancestors on both sides
making love and marrying...
for the past 2 centuries until 1968...

given all this ...history...
for me i recognise how important it is
for all those working on the race thing
but if we leave it there
if we let the story be
"1st BLACK Pres."
we miss the point...

1,000 or 10,000 years from now
if humanity is still here
Race will be as confusing an issue
to understand as it is for "us"
to understand the Bosnian
or Rwandan or Shiite/Sunni genocides...

but if things go right
humanity may have cause
to look back here
and see that here is where
we finally started
to fulfill our destiny
our potential
as human beings and as a species
and it all started
with
h o p e...

the hope we rallied
around
and invested
in our choice
of a man
who stood
for one brief shining moment
as a symbol
for all that we might aspire to
for ourselves
and our generations...

a man who recognized
and reminded us in speech after speech
that it wasn't about him
it was about us
our relationship with our selves
our potential
and our future...

a rallying point and a symbol
of all that is
the true, right and goodness
of humanity
to finally set things right
and strike out on the best path
for humanity...

the path of consciousness
and compassion...

no small task
no small expectation
but at least we finally
get to live and move in the direction
we started and left off with
"...one small step for man..."

it ain't about race...

it's about promise
fulfilling
& living up to
our own ideals...

simple homework
so good to be doing it with
the whole world at once...

that is the wonder of this time
the global awareness
of the unity of the species of humanity
with the rest of creation...
to pretend otherwise is to really miss out...

never before in the history of our species
has the awareness of our connectedness
been so unavoidable...

i love you

d