"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase." Martin Luther King

Less than fifty years ago, most African-Americans were denied the right to vote. Our country adopted a system of "separate but equal" that was brutal, unjust, and inherently "unequal". Lynching and violence against anyone who tried to overturn this system was a shockingly common practice in America. Less than one hundred years ago, women were denied suffrage. Today, a man of black ancestry is now the President of the United States. A woman is our Secretary of State, as is the Speaker of the House.

I don't know how much the situation in our country will improve now that Obama is President. Sometimes I think that the expectations of many Americans are far beyond what any person can accomplish. Even so, I am hopeful and proud to be an American today.

God Bless America.