Reporting Live from Miami!

Hey all,
Bad4 and I are blogging jointly about the Team Lifeline experience at serandez.blogspot.com -- find us there! The timing is a bit off as per our internet access, but this is about as live as it gets. Now I'm going to rest up because the run starts in just 7 hours!!!

YES WE CAN!

Today I witnessed history.
Today I sat among a wide sample of Americans as they prepared to welcome their new president.
Today I held my hand over my heart and felt its steady beat as children of all nationalities pledged allegiance to one flag.
Today I saw Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream come true as little black boys and little black girls held hands with little white boys and little white girls, and it wasn't a performance; they were just playing.
Today I got choked up when an older, white woman said to her African-American, Latino, and Asian-American students, "You don't remember segregation... I wish I could make you understand how important today is!"

No, Obama is not my icon and I know that racism is not dead. However, one cannot deny that our society has made a lot of progress in the recent past. Despite the prejudices that do exist, and we all know they do, we as a whole have managed to put aside our differences enough to work together respectfully. The recent election shed light on the fact that minorities compose the majority, and that the United States of America is and always has been in essence a diverse nation.

Yes, today was definitely an historical landmark, which means, as always, that it is a time for us to reflect on what it means to us. To us, the light unto the nations. Have we lived up to that name?

Can we, too, put aside our differences and unite to achieve our common goal?
Can we see past the externals and realize that we are essentially the same in everything that matters?
Can we reach out to embrace instead of pushing away?
Can we overcome past hurts to build a brighter future?

You have my answer.

(Which, for some reason, still reminds me more of Bob the Builder than Barack Obama... this is what having kids will do to you. Not that I have any, just sayin'...)