Nearly speechless

I sat down to write just now, feeling so emotional and charged after last night's victory and the most inspirational political speech of my lifetime, thinking that I would have so much to say. But I find myself at a loss for words. At least the right words.
For as long as I can remember, I had a certain amount of envy for our parents' generation. While, of course, always grateful for the opportunities that they opened up for us, there lacked in my own generation and time the same passion to make the world a better place and the sense of personal responsibility to do just that. Please don't mistake my words- there has been no shortage of social injustices worldwide and at home for my generation to fight, and I am always both so proud of and awed by those individuals who have taken their commitment to a cause so seriously. But the understanding that we must unite and cooperate to bring about real change, that, as a society, we must sacrifice some of our daily convenience for the benefit of all people- in that way, my generation has been different than our parents. We've fought injustice, but we've done it in a more fragmented way- we've fought it from various struggling non-profits, or from our boardrooms, or by seeking the educational opportunities that our parents' worked so hard to open to us. I am not underestimating any of those efforts or the changes that they have brought about- of course they have been both significant and meaningful.

But last night, I heard a speech that riveted me to my seat. I heard a true leader commit to bringing us together, not in fear, but in cooperation. I felt what I can only imagine our parents must have felt watching JFK 's inaugural address and MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech. That we must act. That we must make a difference. And we finally have the leadership to unite us with each other and with the world. For the first time since I was a little girl, I felt justified in my awe of the President of the United States (even if he is still "elect") and inspired by him in a way I have never known. I can only feel that, come January, we are entering a new era in American history...a better America than we've been for some time. I can't wait to get started!

 

If you missed last night's speech by Obama, click here to read the transcript or watch the video.