The Coronation of Hope

Change has come to America in a big way this winter. Barack Obama has finally scaled the pedestal of power that is perhaps the most coveted in the world – the Presidency of the USA. He brings with him the hopes of the people of America, hopes of restoration of the golden times that existed in America prior to the onset of the threat of the economic Armageddon that is staring the country in the face today. Obama’s historic accession to the country’s highest office perhaps heralds the beginning of a new era in America – an era of true equality and opportunity for all, the very prescripts upon which this great nation was born 232 years ago. Americans have shown tremendous character in rising above petty racial prejudices in following their hearts to choose what is right for their country. Barack Obama has achieved what many would have thought unthinkable, in fact impossible just a few months ago. A man shorn of parental care at an early age and brought up in a society where blacks have always had to struggle to stand shoulder to shoulder with their fairer counterparts, Obama’s speedy progress to become a senator to being nominated for the presidential race and finally to clinch the most coveted seat of power on the planet with overwhelming numbers is nothing short of surrealistic. It is truly refreshing to see a member of a community which has long been the pariah on the lists of the privileged and which has always been on the fringes of a society dominated by whites embed his place so firmly in the hearts of millions of Americans, black and white, young and old. The rapid progress of Obama from relative political obscurity to occupy the highest office of the world’s most powerful country is truly akin to the stuff fairy tales are made of. Obama’s achievement is a also a victory for the vigor and exuberance of youth, and for the millions of young Americans who feel that America needs the vivacity and boldness of youth to bail the country out of the crisis that it finds itself in. However, the loudest cheer for Obama will definitely emanate from the decrepit ghettos and gloomy alleyways of America where millions of black people still endure the throes of neglect even as the rest of the country moved forward. In Obama, these underprivileged millions will look to find a messiah for alleviation of the iniquity and despondency that their lives have been cast into.
Whether Obama can live up to the enormous expectations that he has been burdened with upon his accession as America’s most important individual remains to be seen. Whatever happens, his magical ascent to the top reinstates the cogency one fact beyond doubt – that no destination is unreachable and no obstacle insurmountable so long as strength of resolve and self belief prevail. Obama’s accomplishments will without doubt inspire many an individual to rise above all odds to make a mark in this world. Let us hope Obama continues on his wondrous journey and succeeds in rescuing America and the world from the economic maelstrom that has engulfed one and all. Let us hope that the blacks in America finally get their rightful place in the hearts and minds of mainstream Americans. After all, the world lives on hope, and in Obama America has found a new personification of the same. Hope is what Obama has brought to his nation, and the nation’s hopes are what he will have to fulfill in his sojourn as America’s first gentleman.