History has been made

Its been exciting to be in Chile last night and today, watching the results showing the landslide victory of President-elect Barack Obama. While I regret not being in the US and being able to stand in line to vote there, I recognize the unique perspective I have witnessed being in Santiago as a new US president was elected. Most chileans overwhelmingly supported Barack Obama, hoping his administration will improve relations with Chile, though they are nervous about what democratic protectionist policies with respect to the economy might mean for them.

For a country like Chile, the election of a man of color is a BIG deal. I bought a copy of a Santiago newspaper La Tercera today, where 2 whole pages are filled with detailing things like the history of slavery, the civil rights movement, and the discrimination that remains against minorities in our country. The election of a black man is hard for Chileans to fathom, and many of them still view the US as a place of hate and division, though from my perspective they are much more rascist than I have ever seen in the US. My friend's host mom even made the comment that while watching Obama's party in Chicago she was surprised to see so many white people in the crowd!

I didn't fully grasp the historical significance of Obama's election until it happened last night, and I know I still don't fully understand it because I was fortunate enough to live after the civil rights movement and the height of rascism and discrimination in the South. My hope is that we can now move forward, improve our image in the world, and come together to fix our troubled economy, solve our broken system of health care, and carefully withdraw our troops from Iraq.

Even if you don't agree with President (elect) Obama, I hope you can appreciate the significance of his election and be energized by the excitement that was seen with the record turnout of voters on Election Day. I am extremely proud of my generation and its involvement in America's democracy. We have broken stereotypes about our apathy and are providing an example for the rest of the world.