…that I’m very proud to be an American today. I hope you are too, no matter who you voted for yesterday. I woke up with a similar feeling to the one I had in the days following September 11, 2001. I am sobered by the challenges that lie ahead, but filled with an overwhelming sense of hope that we are capable of the task if we all work together on common ground. I truly believe that there is more that unites us in this country than divides us. One more thought. To the credit of both candidates, I don’t believe this election was about race. My skin is white. In the winter, buried under the layers of my warm clothes, it is pasty white. And for that fact alone, my American experience for the last thirty years came with a set of advantages and opportunities that I will never be able to count or comprehend. And I acknowledge that for generations, the American experience for people born without white skin came with a set of disadvantages and limitations that they were forced to comprehend all too well. I believe that yesterday a man was elected president of the United States on the content of his character and not the color of his skin. Whether you voted for him or not, we all deserve congratulations for participating in a historical election that was not about race but by default will impact the previous advantages, disadvantages, opportunities and limitations once defined by race. That alone is cause to celebrate!!! I wanted to say something funny here (as I am holding back the tears for the um-teenth time today), to wrap things up and to remind us all not to take ourselves too seriously, but I’m coming up blank (who knew?). I’m just too busy being proud to be an American today.
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