silence

I stood in total silence as I witnessed a nation weeping for the victor.

Too much forced morality can lead to insanity. Too much insanity can lead to immorality; too much immorality will eventually lead to criminality.
Gone are the days of “if you ain’t with us you are against us” cowboy mentality.

Speaking soon after provisional results had shown a decisive victory for him, those who had been told by so many for so long to be cynical would know that there was a hope of a better day. A man in his most victorious moment promises to include all in the spoils of victory.
In a tribute to his defeated opponent who had fought long and hard he said that he looked forward to working to renewing this trouble land. Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same biases and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our spirit for so long. “We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection”.

“I will never forget who this victory belongs to – it belongs to you” he said.
“This is your victory,” he said. “We will get there – we as a people will get there.”
“I will always be honest about the challenges…I will listen, especially when we disagree”.

Spoken by the “young and old, rich and poor…black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled…who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of’ divided states: ‘we are, and always will be united”.

“The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term…I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there”.

He gives assurances to re-build the agonizing character of people, “block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand”.

“This victory alone is not the change we seek,” he said, calling for a new spirit of sacrifice and a new spirit of service.

“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…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 the’…humane, compassionate…‘beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our land comes not from our might, our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope”.