Incredibly proud is the first thing that comes to mind. Our country has just elected the first black president in our history. It has been a tumultuous, frenetic and LONG ride. But the moment is here. We have dealt with eight years of failed policies. We have witnessed a fumbling, idiotic fool run our country, with good intentions or not, for the past eight years. We have seen our country's pride diminish, our international image marred and our fellow citizens burdened in hopeless despair. We have stood by while we wage war in a country we don't belong in. We have been manipulated, scared and confused by the events occurring since that fateful day on September 11, 2001. The Republican party has capitalized on our fears to secure their domination of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But, today, we have taken the reins again.
Newly minted president elect Barack Obama has given us hope that he will steer our country onto the right path again. We have the opportunity to redeem ourselves now. John McCain ran a difficult and valiant campaign and has truly devoted his life to our country, but unfortunately for him and luckily for us, the time is now to bring a new face to Washington. We should be honored to have had a man like John McCain serve our country in the way he has and I have no doubts that he will do all he can to bridge the gap our country may see after tonight. He can and he will if he truly cares about our country, and I believe he does.
I am incredibly inundated with emotion right now. After centuries of racial divide in our country, today goes down in the books right next to Brown v. Board, next to the Civil War and next to the emancipation of our equals: African Americans. I am truly proud of not only them, not only Barack Obama, not only the young people who turned out in droves to let their voice be heard today, but of the rest of the country who hasn't let fear and archaic hatred stand in the way of letting this country rightly advance.
As much as it may pain my soul to hear and read derogatory comments made about the skin color of our newly elected president, I simply cannot let it get me down. I am touched with a swelling pride by this nation and the obstacles we have overcome to make tonight happen. As I'm sitting here watching my television, I see tears streaming down people's faces. I hear cheers filtering through the hallways. I hear cars honking their horns and people running and dancing and jumping for joy. I may attend a heavily liberal campus, but this transcends any political stripes. Barack Obama has truly ignited hope in these people.
I will never know, and I should be thankful that I don't, but I will never know what it was like for a black citizen to be made to feel less than equal by their white neighbors or friends. I can't know what that is like. I CAN know what it is like to be consistently considered inferior by the male bigots of this world. I can know how it feels for someone to automatically assume my place is in a kitchen or a domicile. To question my right to choose a typically male-dominated career path. To question my right to do what I please with my own body. I can know how frustrating, disheartening and downright terrible it feels for these people to not recognize the gratuitous harm they are inflicting. The idea that I am somehow less than human.
So when I look at the faces of these black citizens at rallies with their eyes puffy and moist from tears, I see another person who has felt that inequality, real or perceived, in their soul. Whose character has been attacked and life considered to have no value. Yes, we're far from the days of slavery and disenfranchisement. But, we still have so far to go. If I go back to my hometown, tucked away in the country, to hear people utter "the South will rise again" or tell another black joke with impunity, I just may forget all we have accomplished today. I don't want to lose sight of this victory. And I won't.
I am truly, truly proud to be a part of history on this November 4, 2008. I will know exactly where I was, exactly who I was talking to and exactly what I was feeling when the first African-American was elected president of our great nation. I hope you all do too.
Bethany Bump
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