Heartfelt Condolences

To Senator Obama on the loss of his grandmother the night before he will likely be elected the President of the United States of America. I don't have the words to express how sad it is for him that the woman who raised him for so many of his years did not live to be able to express to him her pride in his accomplishments.

In some ways, her passing gives we, the people of this great nation, a chance to sit back and reflect on who exactly it is that has taught this man to be the man and the candidate that he is. I think Mr. Coates says it best here:

Likewise, I was looking at this picture of Obama's grandparents and thinking how much he looks like his grandfather. And suddenly, for whatever reason, I was struck by the fact that they had made the decision to love their daughter, no matter what, and love their grandson, no matter what. I'd bet money that they never even thought of themselves as courageous, that they didn't give much thought to the broader struggles in the the world at the time. They were just doing what right, honorable people do. But the fact is that, in the 60s, you could be disowned for falling in love with a black woman or black man....

Let us remember that Barack Obama learned the great lessons of life from courageous white people. Let us speak of those who do what normal, right people should always do when faced with a child--commit an act love. Here's to doing the right thing.