A NEW BEGINNING, A NEW HOPE?

There's no place like home . . .
There's no place like home . . .
There's no place like home . . .

I reached over to my alarm radio, to switch on National Public Radio. Would I awaken to a dream come true or a nightmare? The dream won out, they were still referring to someone called President-elect Barack Obama.

I checked the election 2008 map, to see if the results were being announced pre-emptively. But no, it still showed the same trend as late last night and early this morning, when I offered up prayers for the safety, now and continued, of our new hope.

The words we grew up hearing were suddenly reality: anyone could grow up to be President, even a man of mixed heritage, Kenyan father, white American mother from Kansas, born and for the most part raised in Hawaii, that far-flung outpost of American colonialism.

The question now: will our common dream prove fruitful? Will our hopes be fulfilled?
The burdens and challenges that await this man seem overwhelming. He does not come to office with the complete support of our nation. How deeply does resentment, even hatred, run among those whose hopes died last night? Can he forge a peace here, at home, before going on to forge a peace in the world?

I have more questions now than yesterday or the day before.

But I also have more hope.