Rejoice

I knew the election of Obama would have a profound impact on the country. But I didn’t understand the extraordinary impact it would have on people—especially my neighbors and fellow Washington residents. Probably the best feeling to describe the euphoria that exists was offered by a woman on the bus, and no doubt echoed by people all over the country, and much of the world: REJOICE

So here are just a few of the things that I have seen, heard and experienced:
**Everyone has seen the people dancing in the streets of DC on election night. But probably my favorite image was the Ethiopian-Americans dancing under the awning of the Ethiopian restaurant. No one understands the promise of America better than immigrants, and watching them rejoice was amazing.
**At 11 pm Tuesday night, when Obama was declared President, all telephone circuits in DC were filled. It seems everyone was calling their family—to rejoice.
**By Wednesday at 10 am, you couldn’t find a Washington Post—they had all been bought for souvenirs.
**A Nigerian-American guy told me his children have no more excuses for not doing their homework—if they study hard, and play be the rules, they can be anything they want. He kept turning the TV from CNN to Nigerian TV, and he said many of the scenes were the same—people rejoicing in the US and in Nigeria.
**Another woman on a bus said that it was a new day. And the driver added that she had to resist the urge to pull over the bus and get out and shout. Rejoice.
**A guy told me this is the day that Martin Luther King had promised—not for blacks, but for ALL people. Rejoice.

I am very lucky—and very proud—of being an American, where such amazing things can happen.

For that I rejoice.