Not being into politics, the election opened my eyes to new possibilities that I frankly never thought would ever happen. After the results were announced, and we knew that Obama won, something sparked in me that has never before. I cannot explain it. It is not because he is the first Black president of the United States (I could really care less), but its is the fact that the motto is true: "It takes a village to raise a child."
The U.S is the village and Obama is our child; we have raised him to the forefront of the country. We have put our hard work and time and faith into him, and I know that he will do a great job. And considering that he beat McCain by such a large number, it signifies to me that we as a nation have put all of our petty and irrelevant differences aside. We have chosen to stand together, and that is something truly to be praised.
From an international level, this election puts the U.S in a whole other line in the mindset of the world. We have been seen as a nation of racists and patriarchal bullying, refusing to allow change into the world. I have many friends and relatives overseas who resent the U.S for being such a hindrance to the advancement of the world. But it is a new day for the U.S. I feel that other countries are going to take a good look at the U.S and begin to embrace us more and more.
Olubukola Elegbede is a journalism major at Rutgers-Newark. November 2008.
