God Bless America!

I am amazed by the distance our country has traveled in the last 44 years! Today I turned 54 years old, and I have a picture that is engraved in my memory from 44 years ago. I was standing on a street corner watching a parade. I was holding hands with another little girl, with dark skin, and she and I were oblivious to everything except the sights and sounds of the parade before us. Suddenly, we were ripped apart, and, as my father grabbed my shoulder, bent to my level and shook his finger in my face, so did my friend's father do the same to her. She and I stared in bewildered silence at one another, and never again were we allowed to play together in our fathers' workplace--where my dad was a credit manager and hers was an elevator operator. It was the first moment of my awareness of racism, and fear was the shadow on both of our fathers' faces, fear for what could have happened to two little girls standing on the street in Wichita Falls, Texas during the racial tension-filled sixties, holding hands, watching a parade.

I remember the fires that my parents watched burning on the TV screens, and I remember the muffled whispers and furtive glances and they worried about what would become of our country. I remember Martin Luther King's speeches on racial equality and I remember wondering why anyone would deny someone their rights just because of the color of his or her skin.

Later, as a young woman I was angry to find out that parts of towns in Texas had what was called "colored town". I read books like "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and "Diary of Anne Frank" and I made comparisons of the cruelty in both worlds. I was already outraged by injustice, but then I became fearful of the capability of men to believe in the superiority of one race over another. The murders of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy added to my fear of the reality of our world. And there was always the looming mushroom cloud of the cold war.

Tonight, I am amazed. Although I voted for Sen. McCain, because of my strong belief that abortion is wrong, I am proud of our country for electing an African American President. And it is gratifying to know that most of the electorate who voted for him were not black. Our country has come a long way.

This was the first election that had me undecided until a week before the election. It was the abortion issue that pushed me onto McCain's side, but I think both men would be good Presidents, and unlike most of the hype I've heard about Palen, I respect her as well. I don't know much about Biden...or at least I didn't until tonight. I am sure you all prayed, as I did, for the outcome. I miss talking to my dad about the election. He used to take me to vote. He would have been amazed and proud tonight, too. And unlike me, he would have voted for Obama. And that would have been an amazing thing, too! Thank you, Dad, for taking me to vote with you...you gave me a love for my country, and you made election day have a wonderful sense of anticipation for me. I did the same thing for my boys, and all of them voted today....basically, our whole family cancelled out each others' votes! :)
But at least we live in a country where we can do that! God bless America....and please, dear God, let us glorify You by our actions.