CHANGE THAT WE CAN BELIEVE IN

I am an Indian and I have no say whatever in the goings on of American politics. However, I am also a resident of a global commune, a worldwide community if you would . Therefore, it was with keen interest that I was following the presidential race in the US between John Mc Cain and Barack Obama; including all the side events that accompanied it like the scandals a- la Palin, and the hate mongering by certain neo Nazis. I favored Obama for a lot of reasons, his race being the very least of them all. He is a man who can inspire with his humanness and has an ability to connect with the masses. Mc Cain on the other hand has a glittering resume and no doubt is more able that Obama in certain aspects. But his ability to connect with the audience was seriously flawed; and so was his choice of the ferral Palin as his VP candidate. America needed a person who can inspire and so no surprises Obama won. And how!

I cannot help but put myself in the shoes of Americans at this very moment- democrats and Republicans alike. And one feeling that must reverberate through every American is the feeling of imminent change. Things can certainly not remain the way they once were because this development is portentous as well as visionary. Another feeling that I'd say is inevitable is a little apprehension and this is a follow up to the earlier feeling of imminent change. There will now be a black man in the White House; the irony in the juxtaposition of the black man and the house he will now be a resident of is grave. America has never had a black president, ever, and how this particular gentleman handles affairs is left to the imagination above all things because no precedent has been set by another. So then there must be a palpable apprehension and wonder in the air. But I have full faith in this common man's hero; he will prove his mettle given the chance.

What's most significant is what this means for the Blacks as a race in America. Despite its democratic and humanitarian claims America has been far from impartial in its treatment of its black citizens. It is thus unthinkable considering the fact that certain areas still follow a very obvious anti black policy, that a black man should be the head of state. This is a historic development if there ever was one. And what every black man, woman and child must be feeling is best described by the words 'Justice and equity'. Finally they have been heard! The slaves have risen to a position that is not just superficially equal but one that has been given real sanction; after hundreds of years of ignoring.

What was after all responsible for this historic event? I'd say there were three huge factors. First would obviously be the personality of Obama himself and the lack of it of Mc Cain. Despite Obama being the man of charisma that he is if he'd been pitted against a more energetic and charismatic opponent the balance might very well have tilted in the republican's favor. Secondly it was the relentless drive of his supporters, for many of whom it was not just about an election but an ultimate goal of being given legitimacy and justice. Thirdly I believe that America as a whole is in a very different state, because of all its domestic and international developments, than it was in even two years ago. People want to see change and that very quickly. The choice was stark- drastic change against old school rigidity; perhaps at another time the latter would have been embraced unquestioningly. But not now...

I have never been a huge fan of America and its foreign policies. But for once I can see why the world still sees America as the beacon holder in many aspects. They come together whenever the country needs them. I am just as excited as any American and I wait to see what changes will be ushered in. And I hope that Obama stands by his words and ushers in Change that we can believe in.