Witnessing History

Whatever one's political beliefs, last night was an epochal moment in history for every American. I watched in awe as our country elected an African-American to the highest office in the land. As a white, southern-born and raised male, it was almost surreal to watch the night unfold. In my wildest dreams, growing up in the South, I could never have imagined this happening. As a teenager, I was gripped in fear as my parents suggested that the race riots in Newark and Watts were coming soon to a city near me. My father bought a shotgun, thinking he needed more firepower in the coming race war. Sleep was more fitful in those times.

Fast-forward to last night. I am now the age my parents were in the turbulent sixties. What a journey! It will difficult to manage one's expectations in the wake of this event. On both sides of the equation, from conservative fears of a socialist state to liberal dreams of a Utopian society, we must recognize what has happened and try to believe the rhetoric of the President-elect, insist he live up to his words. For those that hate others because of the color of their skin, there will be no solace. For those whose hysterical joy knows no bounds, there will be disappointment. Even this sweeping victory does not spell the end to the systemic dysfunction in our economy. Even an electoral mandate does not remove the dangers we face in a world fraught with enemies that possess an inbred hatred of this country. Even with one party in control of the administrative and legislative branches, we will not erase the fractious nature of our arguments nor will it bring European Socialism to America.

We face sobering challenges in this country over the next decade. They will not be easily solved and the unexpected will continue to complicate the process. This morning, despite our fear or joy, the world is still the world.

We all will watch closely over the next couple of months at how the new regime picks the players that will shape Washington's course for the new administration. The selections that President Obama makes will themselves tell us how he will lead. The proposed legislation after the inauguration should also give us a pretty clear picture of which priorities the new President and Congress will foster during the next four years. And of course, the markets, allies and enemies will make their statements as well.

If, as the President-elect has stated, we must all push ourselves to contribute more to improve the long-term prospects for our country, then we individually should escape our comfort zones and find new ways to contribute to our neighborhoods and our communities. In the end, the future is more about how we each react to the challenges confronting us personally than it is about waiting helplessly for the government to bless or curse us. In fact, we realize that it has always been that way. What we do each day and how we view our world, as a place of great opportunity or as a place of fear and trembling, is far more important to the tenor of our lives than hiding in unrealistic fear or resting in false hopes.

Now that we've symbolically healed the American divisions surrounding race, let's focus on the real challenge: making a commitment of giving more of ourselves to others around us and most importantly, finding how we can be part of the solution, not part of the problem.