I'll answer that question this way: Sometimes.
Am I proud that America gives tens of billions of dollars a year to help fight the spread of AIDS, end world hunger and promote democracy around the world? Yes. Am I proud that America champions human rights and the rights of women around the world? Yes. Am I proud that this is a land of opportunity and promise? Yes. Am I proud of the freedoms granted our citizens that are the envy of many in the world? Yes.
However, America tends to ignore the plight of peoples in which it has no military, political or business interest in. Genocide in Darfur? Send in the UN! Genocide in Rwanda? Send in a token force, get our butts kicked, and then never show up again. Government sponsored murder in Haiti? Nada. Taliban oppressing people in Afghanistan BEFORE the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001? Diddly squat. Tens of thousands of homeless people in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina? No help there. On those counts, I am NOT proud to be an American.
And then there's the giant pink elephant in the room that no one dares talk about: race. There's a difference between SAYING that anyone can be President and actually DOING it. One of the basic founding principles of this country is that ANY American citizen can be President. Yet 43 out of 44 times, we elected a caucasian to the office.
This election changes EVERYTHING. Why? Because the majority of peoples around the world are what? Not white.
Seeing a young* non-white person as the President is inspiring to tens of millions of Americans and billions of people around the world. It means that America not only talks the talk, she walks the walk. It is vindication for every single non-white American that has ever been slighted, insulted, stereotyped, left behind, ignored, attacked, jailed or enslaved by whites in this country. It means that leaders of nations around the world see someone that is NOT the "establishment." They see someone who looks like them. They see someone who they may share a history or common ancestry with. They see someone who may understand them. Young minority children in America can look at the president and realize that all the rhetoric is REAL. That YES, they CAN achieve anything they put their minds to. Nothing inspires like a hero, but he's not a hero if you can't relate to him.
Now as great as all of this is, we are still leaving out a HUGE portion of the population. Who? Women. Hillary Clinton came closest to breaking that glass ceiling. Geraldine Ferraro merely touched it.
America has been SLOW to elect people to office that are anything other than white men. Indira Ghandi was Prime Minister of India in 1966. Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1979. Benazir Bhutto was Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1988 (and she was a MUSLIM). ALL were successful leaders. The same "good 'ol boy" propaganda that's been holding back minorities for all these years also applies to women, and we are a lesser nation because of it.
So, on this day, I am proud - especially proud - to be an American. This day signifies part of America's promise made manifest. This day marks America's first steps into the 21st century. From before the day the Constitution was signed, America has been a nation of change. The need for change brought the Puritans to this continent. The need for change brought America's manifest destiny. The need for change brought and end to slavery. The need for change brought civil rights, the right to vote and freedom from discrimination. And the need for change has brought women and minorities into positions of leadership and power.
Go America.
Post script:
My friend also mentioned that she is "afraid Obama will be assassinated and this country will erupt in civil war." I understand that fear is a powerful motivator. Fear can even be good when you use it to focus your mind - ask any soldier. But allowing fear to make your decisions for you is a guarantee for failure - again, ask any soldier. Imagine all of the missed opportunities this country would have had if we had NOT done something out of fear of what may have happened as a result. Fear is the true enemy of success, and fear is part of what holds this country back from being all it can be. If an attempt is made on Barack Obama, it doesn't mean that we were "wrong" to elect him or that the country wasn't "ready." It means that we need work HARDER to stamp out intolerance and racism in this country. There is NO going back.
*Young: Only 9 Presidents ever elected before Barack Obama were under 50.
