Change has come to America

To understand the above cartoon, please read my post on 27 Feb 2008 under the heading "Obama for Malaysia?". Go to my Blog Archive on the left column and click on Feb 2008.

Barack Obama waving to supporters after claiming victory in Chicago. "Change has come to America," he said to thunderous applause by a quarter million people. He had campaigned on a platform of 'Change We Can Believe In".

Some say the American dream is fulfilled. Some call it the Impossible Dream having come true. Some say history has been created in USA. Some call it a victory for the American people. Some say the defining moment is here. Some call it a victory for racial equality and freedom in America. Barack Obama himself, in his victory speech in Chicago just hours ago, said "Change has come to America".

Call it whatever you like. Say whatever you want. The important thing is Barack Obama has won and USA will have an African-American president come January, the swearing-in date. The 44th President of USA is black, or at least half-black (Barack's mother was white), just imagine. Just last year, when Barack launched his bid for the presidency, this seemed almost unbelievable if not impossible. Even becoming the first black Democrat nominee for the American presidential election would in itself make history and a remarkable achievement. Getting elected as the first black president? You must be joking, many would have said just a year or two ago.

Whatever it is, thank you Lord for answering my prayer. I believe this was also the dream of millions of Kenyans, Africans, Indonesians and Malaysians (the husband of Barack's half-sister is from Sabah in east Malaysia). But, more importantly, it was the dream of millions and millions of US citizens especially African-Americans. After all, it's their dream - the American Dream made famous by the late Dr Martin Luther King when he said "I have a dream....that one day an American will not be judged by the colour of his skin..."

Today, Nov 4 2008, the American Dream seems to have come true. May be not entirely but at least it was a big, big step towards the realisation of that dream. As I had written yesterday, it's a far cry from the day when the first African slaves set foot on America soil. It's a far cry from the day when a black lady was fined or jailed for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white, the incident which gave birth to the civil rights movement. It's a far cry from the day when Dr King led almost a million people to march to Washington DC to deliver that famous speech of his. By the way, thousands of members of the church founded by the late pastor Reverend King turned up at their church compound to celebrate Obama's victory. To them, a fellow African-American has finally completed the journey that Dr King started. Praise the Lord!

Once again, thank you Lord. May your will be done. And to those who voted for Obama, thank you and may God bless you. For those who did not vote for Obama, may God bless you too, for our God is a loving God. Halleluyah!