Step aside, Tiger. Step aside, Oprah.

For as long as I can remember, athletes and entertainers have been the prime role models for most young African-Americans. Leading the list of luminaries, of course, are Tiger Woods and Oprah Winfrey.

Woods is a consummate professional athlete; poised, confident and relentlessly dedicated. Winfrey is one of the most powerful entertainers on the planet, her charm and sincerity winning influence with people from every walk of life. Yet neither of them has really broken any new ground. Both Woods and Winfrey are inheritors of a legacy that has seen black success limited to sports and entertainment.

The election of Barack Obama is about something altogether different. The people of the United States have placed their collective destiny in the hands of a man who two generations ago would have been forced to ride in the back of the bus in some U.S. cities. This turn-around of public attitudes bodes well for the nation.

The next generation of young African-Americans will be fully vested in this republic—sadly for the first time. The example of Barack Obama will open the eyes of young African-Americans. They will see themselves fulfilling destinies their parents would have thought impossible. Their visions of success will no longer be limited to being chosen an All-American or as a headliner in Las Vegas.  From its inception, the presidency of Barack Obama will inspire a generation of young people of every color. And for that, we are all the winners.

Many of the ills and injustices that have plagued this nation are still with us. But there is a new current moving in. And that tide of hope and reason will carry away the ignorance that has long stagnated in some corners of the country.  

As Andrew Young so aptly said, Barack Obama’s election is “a triumph of faith over fear.” 

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Decisions, Decisions.

A new frontier in our civilization

"In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shank from this responsibility - I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavour will light our country and all who serve it -- and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.
Inaugural Address - 1961

The moment approaches - the leaves fall from on high and the night is silent. Our autumn season reminds us of a great beginning. This Tuesday we shall know the fate of our nation. Perhaps we may not realize the full extent of such a moment. What is clear is that it will be felt by all. It will impact us here at home and far away. In our time and in the future. History is being written and we are witnesses. Our great society now moves into a new boundary of civilization. We move forward to resolve our differences and misunderstandings; and to begin to heal our broken bodies and souls. John F. Kennedy said it best in describing this new vision of human potential:

"We stand at the edge of a New Frontier-the frontier of unfulfilled hopes and dreams. Beyond that frontier are uncharted areas of science and space, unsolved problems of peace and war, unconquered problems of ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and surplus."

Many of us are discovering a new sense of things. As if somehow we have suddenly woken up from a dream. Now we are facing the reality of the lives we have been living and move forward towards a new direction. It is uncharted territory for us and we must be careful not to fall back into the apathy of the past. Our hope comes from an understanding that our fates are somehow connected. And because of this we are required to look, think, and move beyond ourselves. A new hope and desire to conquer the false within us and bring to light the true self. For so long we have diluted our existence by avoiding the need to face this inner self. Albert Einstein noted this very well:

"How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people - first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy. A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving."In the end, who is guilty and innocent is not the question to be asked. The question should be: Are we part of the problem or the solution? The fundamental task we face now is realizing that we can no longer continue to solve our problems using the same thinking that created them. It is clear that in order to solve our problems we must begin resisting ideas, doctrines, policies, and laws that we believe to be unjust through our non-participation.

May God grant us peace in our days. May our leaders reflect our new commitment to justice and peace in our world. May we find hidden within us the source which leads all peoples to do good.

Enrique Mier Vergara