It's really up to us...

I say "feelings" because, to be quite honest, I was truly moved by this pivotal moment in time.

When the cameras panned the faces in the crowd at Chicago as Obama supporters rallied, chanting "Yes We Can," and "O-Bam-A," I witnessed change, progress, and the inner core of what being an American should mean.

There existed all walks of life-- young and old, rich and poor, factory workers and top-notch executives, democrats and republicans, black and white, Hispanic, Indian, Jewish, Asian, and other races and religions, gathered as ONE for a common goal.

The diversity of the people I saw, not only in terms of race, was powerful and gave me HOPE for tomorrow, HOPE for my childrens' future.

There was a spirit that reigned over me as I watched the events on November 4, 2008.

I will remember this day as long as I live.

For me, Obama is not viewed as a miracle-man or an idol we should follow. Rather, I see our new "leader" more as a human being, a husband, a father, a deep thinker, and a poet who's words challenge us as American's to be more than we are and to achieve that goal together, as the UNITED States of America.

Barack moves us to move ourselves, a lot like another strong African American man did before his untimely death. This election validated that.

It's strange because Obama's own words about Martin Luther King, Jr., sound a lot like the words I would use to describe our new president ...

Through words he gave a voice to the voiceless. Through deeds he gave courage to the faint of heart. He pointed the way for us - a land no longer torn asunder with racial hatred and ethnic strife, a land that measured itself by how it treats the least of these, a land in which strength is defined not simply by the capacity to wage war, but by the determination to forge PEACE - a land in which all of God's children might come together in a spirit of brotherhood.