No doubt… This is certainly a special day and a special submission this week.  I will not even front as if I am elated about the campaign and election of President-Elect, Barack Obama.  This is a historic and especially proud moment that certainly NOT everyone is pleased with, but in honor of my ancestors, those who sacrificed their lives for the rights of people of color and the many people who spoke with their vote and overcame the shallowness and one-dimensional low-level thinking of racism that plagues our nation – I am thankful.



I am thankful that courage and opportunity are present with this historic election.  I am thankful that who I consider ‘The Real John McCain’ finally showed up – albeit during his concession speech.  McCain is certainly a hero, survivor and servant for his country.  For those who have been witness to his upstanding and non-campaign-influenced character, his concession speech was filled with the greatness that he truly possesses when not submitting to the suggestions and advice of his political campaign team.  The man’s presidential character came in a concession speech, too many speeches too late… And thus Barack Obama wins via the people’s voice.  McCain’s class and character were present and powerful throughout his words… very honorable.



However, a fool I am not.  This moment is amazing.  Many historical points of impossibility have been crushed.  Just two years ago, the popular conversation about the possibility of a “African-American President” conjured responses of ‘not in my lifetime’, ‘the U.S. is still too racist’, and ‘we won’t have a Black or female president’.  These phrases were common and more often than not went unchallenged as ho-hum ‘you’re right’ responses followed.  However, crushed are the small thinking majority of the recent past, today.  From the ashes of the crushed is a new hope for possibility and opportunity that has been seized by the electorate.  I am extremely impressed with the mobilization offered by Hip-Hop culture, young people and white folks.  Much speculation concluded that Hip-Hop would be a minor factor, the youth vote was less than 2004 and questions about ‘how will White people vote?’ flooded the conversations of media pundits and opinion-leaders. 



I am compelled to remember the earliest ‘get out the vote’ activists and freedom fighters like Malcolm X, Patrice Lumumba, Steve Biko, Father Romero, John Brown, Martin Luther King Jr., Delores Huerta, Caesar Chavez, The Brown Berets and The Black Panthers.  So many lives sacrificed on behalf of others – none in vain.  So, congratulations not only to the electorate – YOU!  But to President-Elect Obama, John McCain and all of us who are at the edge of the kind of time that few living people have experienced.  The economic challenges, expected financial and social depression and wars.  Let us meditate on the safety and security of Barack Obama during his presidential opportunity to lead us in a positive, progressive and non-partisan direction. 



In speaking with my peers, many are still beside themselves in the ‘shock and awe’ of this dream-filled reality.  Some people don’t know what to do with themselves, some don’t know when this reality will actually ‘hit them’… It is truly a pivotal moment in our rich U.S. history.  Still, I am not a fool and you should not fall into the world of wonderland either… If the history and disease-like plague of racism in our potentially great nation still persists, this presidency will require the most efficient and attentive security detail ever assembled to protect Obama.  Let us meditate for the greatness of our nation to continue to shine over our shortsightedness. 



Straight from The 25360, congratulations to our citizens, President-Elect Barack Obama, Vice-President Elect, Joe Biden, Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin for an entertaining and competitive campaign… amazing outcomes!





Peace & Love
 â€¨Jose S. Gutierrez Jr. is an editor, writer and producer. A graduate of Washington State University and student at The Evergreen State College, he writes and edits the Pacific Northwest section of OZONE Magazine and hosts and produces Live From I-5 Radio (since ‘89) every Friday at 3 p.m. on KAOS 89.3 FM ( HYPERLINK "http://www.kaosradio.org" www.kaosradio.org) in Olympia. He writes a weekly hip-hop column in the music section on the Weekly Volcano’s Web site.