Pace on Earth

American Boy

Spem Reduxit

That is the Latin translation of New Brunswick’s coat of arms motto – Hope Restored. That seems a pretty apt motto for what America did for the world last night. I don’t mean to overstate what this means, not much will change here on the ground anytime soon, but seeing smiling faces around the world at the news of Barack Obama’s win last night and knowing that it made me smile too, it was nice to feel a part of a big collective.

Two days ago I outlined why this election meant a lot to me and in his acceptance speech Obama nailed the response – “And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.”

This is a huge feat for an African-American and we should all recognize that – I entitled this post American Boy because that has less racial overtones than it did yesterday (it’s also a pretty kicking beat) – but for me this is about America restoring hope to a world that needs it.

Thank you America!

Pace out.

posted by Vitamin S @ 4:54 p.m.