With the inauguration of Barack Obama as our 44th president, people across the globe watched as a person of color, for the very first time, ascended to our nation's highest office. In a country where, only two generations ago, African Americans were denied such basic rights as where to eat, where to drink, and where to sleep, history has been made.
But with all the excitement and anticipation of the incoming Obama administration, and the symbolism represented by a man leading a country that would have once considered him not a person but property, we should be reminded that the pursuit of equality for all of our nation's people is far from over. Only when an event like that which we have witnessed this week becomes ordinary will our country realize the full potential of its human capital.
When our society becomes focused and fixated on ideas and ideals, not color or gender, we will have fulfilled our destiny as a nation where all people are truly created equal. When we value each other for our ability and our integrity, rather than our pedigree or race, we will have buried our past prejudices and witnessed the dawning of a new era of promise for all Americans. And when what we choose to put our faith in becomes less important than our deeds and our actions as we carry out the basic principles so critical to a moral and respectful society, we will have assured ourselves that any American citizen, be they Christian or Jew, Hindu or Muslim, atheist or agnostic, will be judged by what they do, rather than whether or where they happen to pray.
When inaugurals cease to be historic solely because of the many things that make us each "different," we as a nation will have fully embraced the heritage of freedom that Lincoln spoke of at Gettysburg, "that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
But with all the excitement and anticipation of the incoming Obama administration, and the symbolism represented by a man leading a country that would have once considered him not a person but property, we should be reminded that the pursuit of equality for all of our nation's people is far from over. Only when an event like that which we have witnessed this week becomes ordinary will our country realize the full potential of its human capital.
When our society becomes focused and fixated on ideas and ideals, not color or gender, we will have fulfilled our destiny as a nation where all people are truly created equal. When we value each other for our ability and our integrity, rather than our pedigree or race, we will have buried our past prejudices and witnessed the dawning of a new era of promise for all Americans. And when what we choose to put our faith in becomes less important than our deeds and our actions as we carry out the basic principles so critical to a moral and respectful society, we will have assured ourselves that any American citizen, be they Christian or Jew, Hindu or Muslim, atheist or agnostic, will be judged by what they do, rather than whether or where they happen to pray.
When inaugurals cease to be historic solely because of the many things that make us each "different," we as a nation will have fully embraced the heritage of freedom that Lincoln spoke of at Gettysburg, "that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
