Oh, what a feeling

Yesterday, Barack Obama became President. It was a great day, and not because I am blindly putting my hope in someone who hasn't done anything yet, but because I can believe in America again.

I grew up with a deep distrust in the American government. I didn't know any better. In my first months of high school voter fraud and miscounted voting machines caused a scandal that resulted in the Bush administration. And it didn't get any better from there.
Bush created a false connection between 9/11 and Iraq and publicly stated (many times) that no matter how many protesters (or countries) were against an Iraq invasion, it was going to happen. And it did.

He lied about a "Mission Accomplished" among other things and suppressed America's passion.
Cheney was less than amicable and still defends illegal wiretapping to this day. To make a long eight years short, it was less than inspiring for a growing mind like myself.

And then Barack Obama came along. I was skeptical about his campaign for change because it seemed too vague, but at the last minute I knew that change was exactly what America needed.
Barack Obama did not create change, but he did ignite the spark.

And that spark that Barack started lit a fire, a fire that was omnipresent in everyone in DC on Inauguration day. Obama's intelligence and commitment to change put the passion back in politics in the US.
Americans should be considered no different then who they were before the election, but Obama's spirit restored my hope in the US and even though that sounds trite, it is the truth. Bush broke down my spirit and the possibility of Obama made me change my mind.

The atmosphere in DC yesterday was a contagious high of hope and happiness. I've never seen so many American citizens treat eachother with such respect and camaraderie.

I hope these feelings were felt around the nation and continue to influence citizens treatment of each other.

One thing is for certain. Obama's inauguration does not mean our work is over. Obama saw suppressed American hope and his leadership made us change our minds about an individual's ability to change. Now, more then ever, lethargy and indifference is not an option and if it occurs then we have no one to blame but ourselves. It is now our duty as citizens (at home and abroad) to create that space for political change and to invoke it in future generations.
All for one and one for all let us catch eachother before we fall.