It's who we are

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

To all our friends, a reminder. This is who we are, it's not just what happened last night. The genius of the American system is the capacity for real change with civil and orderly transfer of power. We can err, tragically err. I'm very familiar with one of our errors - slavery - as my ancestors owned slaves, even though they came to America as indentured servants themselves.

In my lifetime I have drunk water from whites only fountains, gone to segregated schools, and been taught childhood rhymes that demeaned whole peoples. I've seen fights break out over race, and had riots occur in my home town. Affirmative action has slammed doors in my face and opened them for people of color. We struggled. We fought. We wrestled with this because who we tried to be was in conflict with why we were.

So even though I supported his rival, and bitterly disagree with him on many issues, Barack Hussein Obama will be my president. I will pray for him, while also praying for some of his stated goals to fail. But I will thank God that I lived long enough to see America reach this point.