Mandate From Heaven

Greatness beckons us.

You and I.

It strode across a massive stage on a cold Chicago night. It wasn't just embodied in the skinny, black man in the dark suit, but also evident in the smiling face of his adoring wife and beautiful children.

Greatness.

In ancient Chinese culture, the emperor was seen as a deity in human form. His reign was considered the will of the gods and he was granted the "mandate from heaven." He reigned supreme over all.

We do not consider our political leaders to be gods in America. Too often in our history we have seen just how human and fallible politicians can be. But, Tuesday night, we saw a man receive the modern day equivalent of a mandate of heaven.

Not because of the size of his victory. That was only a minor issue. No, even if Obama had won by one vote his victory would still be a mandate.

See, the people of these Divided States of America have elected their eternal bogeyman to be the symbol that represents us before the world. A country that once hung black men from trees for smiling at white women, now has a president who is the product of miscegenation.

That is greatness.

I have been a reluctant American. There is no other way to put. Through an accident of birth I was granted the privilege of growing up in this country. Many times I have scoffed at that right, I have minimized the importance of that privilege.

Not now.

I listened to a man speak words of power, of hope, of idealism that touched a core within me that I often forget exists. It's a core I've protected, that I've hidden, that I have purposely forgotten. It was something that could have only happened in this country.

He touched my personal greatness.

I'm sure he touched many of you in the same way. As I saw tears stream down the faces of people in that enormous crowd in Chicago I was certain that others had been touched.

President Barack Obama, (Good God that felt good), makes you want to be a better person. He makes you want to believe in those myths that you were taught in civics class and American History. President Obama gives you hope.

It is not a hope built on lies or deception. It's a hope built on the cold hard fact that each and every human being has the potential to be more than just mediocre. We are not bound by our most base impulses, nor are we beholden to the evil that so often invades our minds. We can be more, we can do more, we have more inside of us.

We all have greatness.

We all have a mandate from heaven.

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