by Glenn Brittany

Created on: November 21, 2008   Last Updated: November 22, 2008

Obama. One word represents so much to so many. His election signals a new day for the United States-a transformation. Americans' decision to elect Obama as president was transformational for several reasons: racial relations, religious extremism and global awareness.

The guilt and shame of slavery have constricted both white and black people for decades. White children are horrified when they learn their ancestors practiced such a thing; black children are enraged, as they should be. Both groups were immobilized by guilt, shame and anger, even today, with all the strides that have been made since Martin Luther King, Jr.'s movement in the '60s.

When Obamahalf-black, half-whitewas elected as president by a sweeping landslide of white and black Americans, it was almost as though the world stood still. And in that moment in time, we witnessed the mighty arc of justice in hushed silence.

In 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr., said, "Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Well, 41 years later, we are seeing the evidence that King was correct. The universe is on the side of justice. Not that electing Obama is a panacea to the problems many black people still face in the United States, but it is a link in the chain of justice that has surely begun to form.

The day after the election, there was a palpable feeling of something like relief in the air, as though white people felt more at peace because the scales of justice had tipped the other way. And black people, too, seemed to feel as though a burden had been lifted from their shoulders and they no longer had to carry it. They were free.

As King also said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny." Obama represents our nation's healing of the moral stain left by the practice of slavery.

Another transformative aspect of Obama's election is that he stands for unity among all peopleno matter your color, religion or sexual preference. This was one of the first points Obama made when during his acceptance speech on election night. What a marked contrast to George W. Bush's intolerance of homosexual and non-Christian people. Obama stands for the melting pot that truly is the United States.

Obama seeks to unify, not divide. He seeks to understand, not judge. This attitude is what has already won his popularity with practically every nation on earth. And it will be our salvation in the coming years as we attempt to extricate ourselves from a war we never should have embarked on to begin with. A war that has cost our government trillions of dollars.

Obama also did not choose an oil tycoon as his vice president, which is a good thing considering global warming has become a major concern today. We are already witnessing dramatic and costly climate changes. Maintaining the status quo so the rich can get richer would lead our nationand planetto eventual devastation. Transformative change is needed, and Obama has the openness to consider all possibilities for innovative and creative solutions to the global warming problem.

It is a new day for America. We have experienced a seismic shift in our favor. Once again, we can be proud to be American. We can bask in the admiration of other nations. And we can look to our leader with confidence restored.

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