Would that I would see the day when my country should elect a black president. If someone were to ask me 10 years ago if I thought this would happen I would have given them a sad smile and replied that I rather doubt it. So I lived to see the beginning of the 21st century and nearly a decade into it things remained “business as usual” and worse. The wars continue, my country being ridiculed and even hated, big politicians with their dirty hands in big oil holding back any sort of progress involving alternative energy and environmental clean up—same shit, different day, different decade, different century. It was utterly depressing.

Then came November 4th, 2008 and on that day, against all odds (and those odds were damn high) Americans woke themselves up from their complacency long enough to elect a black president. Would you believe it? If, at the beginning of this presidential election you were asked if you thought that in 2008 we would elect a black president, what would you have replied I wonder?

Earlier this year I wrote a post where I bluntly stated that I did not want another old guy as my president. That I was sick and tired of the “same old, same old”, that it was time for a change. I was simply fed up with having the person running my country being 3 steps away from a stroke, heart attack or an assisted living environment. Someone who has decades to look back on and perhaps less than a decade to look forward to. There’s always the exception but what do you want to bet these type of elderly, forward looking folks actually end up as president?

Don’t get me wrong, I have enormous respect for my elders (as long as they deserve it, that is…) and it’s my opinion that our elders should be advising our president, not sitting in the center seat. You want to be a 75 year old senator, fine…no problem, but you ain’t headed for no oval office.

So it looks like I got my wish, as far fetched as it seemed. Originally, I had hoped for Hillary to be the one heading up the Democratic party but this may even be better (she just made my “not over 60 years of age” limit). And just so there’s no confusion here, I don’t give a rat’s behind what color and/or gender and/or sexual preference my president is just as long as they can do the job at hand.  It also renews my faith in my country that America is still able to rise above their own hates, prejudices and discontent to make a good common sense decision.

Now, does this mean that Obama will get the job done? Does it mean that he won’t end up just as corrupt as the rest of them? No, it doesn’t, not in the least. Only time will tell whether we made the right decision or not but the simple fact that “We, the People” were actually able to overcome ourselves long enough to elect a black president tells me that “We, the People” are (hopefully) finally beginning to grow up.