Proud of Obama's Presidency, Blacks Sad to See Him Go

Looking at that photo... I think, My God, it has been a miracle.

That New York Times article captured a lot of what I feel and think.

What a gorgeous couple.  What a different-looking couple than has ever walked an inaugural parade.

Numerous times over the past 7 years, I've been driving and thought to myself, My God, we have a black president.  I just never thought that would happen, if I ever thought of it at all.  Good.  Lord.  

It makes me angry that skin color has mattered so much in this world.  It makes me angry that humans are cruel and power-hungry.  It must be part of our survival instincts to push others down.  So much of history is a catalogue of that.  

Is there a reason our modern world might be different?  Access to information?  A smaller world because of travel... well, for those who can afford travel.  It seems to me that for this Earth to survive (and ideally, thrive), we've got to make our world even smaller.  We've got to make more parts of the world better.  But won't geography always make some parts of the world less desirable, and then those on the margins will go to those places and be separate?  

To ponder.  

At first when I saw the headline, "Proud of Obama's Presidency, Blacks Are Sad to See Him Go," I thought, Hey!  I'm sad to see him go too!  But the article does make it clear that Obama means something very personal to those whose skin color, in this country, has meant being seen as less.  It's been a life-changer for many people, in a way that's not true for someone whose skin color has never been considered a barrier.