Barack Obama: "It's Our Time"

One of the perks of signing up at Barack Obama's website or of contributing to his campaign a bunch of times is that you get emails from the Senator himself. Yeah, I know he didn't actually hit the return button and send it out to me, but that's okay. He's got a few other things to do. I like getting "his" emails anyway (even though, like a kid, he asks for money every time). The one that arrived late Tuesday had the subject line: It's Our Time.

Yes.
It is.
It is OUR time.

Now some may think this means it's Black folks' time. And yes, it does. It is Black folks' time. Long overdue, yet sooner than most of us dared to hope. But it is also our time, my time.

As a little girl who was raised to believe that the Democrats were "the closest thing to Communists," it is my time. As an 11 year old who quaked at her bedroom window praying that Kennedy and Khrushchev wouldn't blow up the world, it is my time. As a 13 year old who read every book about utopias she could find, it is my time. As a hippie, demonstrator, and political theatre activist, it is my time. As a Massachusetts native who voted for McGovern, it is my time. As a voter, precinct walker, petition signer, donator, do-gooder, it is my time. As a social worker, it is my time. As a mother, it is my time. As a white woman who has been wishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin' about President Obama since he announced, it is my time.

Will President Obama do all that I want? No. Will he do stuff that will make me email and call and want to give him a piece of my mind? Oh, yes. Will he be enough like Dennis Kucinich or Paul Wellstone or John Edwards? I doubt it. But, will I be able to watch his press conferences and listen to his rhetoric? You betcha. Will I know there is an intelligent, mentally healthy person in the White House? Yes, indeed. Will I feel I have a leader who will be interested in my opinion? I believe so.

Is this race about race? Of course it is. It is about a brilliant, charismatic, wise and savvy, down-to-earth, caring, idealistic man (who can pronounce nuclear)--who also happens to be Black. And, as the mother of African-American children, I am thrilled that my Miranda and the children of her generation are witnessing this. And as a member of an African-American family, I am moved beyond words for Great Aunt Gloria and those of her generation, after all that they have witnessed.

Of course, my excitement is dampened by Kyle not being among us. I wrote Who Would Kyle Vote For? in January, when I barely dared to hope that Senator Obama would be the Democratic Party's candidate. I so wish Kyle were here to challenge me and enlighten me and pull me down to earth if I float too high, but mostly I wish he were here because it is our time and he should be here to enjoy it.

(sorry for the crude phone photo of my poster; does capture my restricted vision, however . . .)