The Obama Era Begins: Welcome Back, America!

Wow.

You know, for those of us who move out to Hollywood with big dreams, well, we tend to have a soft spot for great stories, for underdogs, for tales of the seemingly impossible becoming possible. And as much as I've tried to be acutely aware of *reality*, in an era when the President of the last eight years has lived in his own private Fantasyland, there are moments when one's inner Hollywood dreamer can't help but frame things in the context of a big-screen narrative. And tonight, as the glass shattered and the bomb dropped, as Barack Obama was declared as being the next President of the United States - it was indeed a Hollywood-like moment. Because as much as I usually hate to put politics in these kinds of terms, I couldn't help but feel that tonight was a night that the good guys won.

As much as some will want to frame this as just another cyclical election, as much as some will want to get right back to business as usual ... I know it, you know it - this was a special moment in American history. A transformative moment that marked a new chapter in the narrative of a nation that has always struggled to live up to its lofty ideals. As much as our patriotic tendencies make us want to, at times, declare America to be the greatest country in the world - over the last eight years there haven't been a lot of moments to inspire such enthusiasm. But tonight might just be one of those nights - where the majority of Americans embraced progressive change and actively voted to shake up the status quo. There are still plenty among us who are stuck in the old wars, the old culture clashes. But the good news is that the old ways of thinking are becoming an endangered species.

Over the last couple of days I've tried to really hammer home how crucial it was for younger voters to be a big presence in today's election, and looking at the numbers so far, it looks like we were. More than two-thirds of the young vote was pro-Obama, and to me that sends a huge message to the pundits out there - there's a new generation that's here and eager to be heard, and we're going to be around for a long, long time. Everyone else needs to get with the program.

And I don't mean to say that in a mean-spirited way. But I can't help but want to say "I told you so" to a certain contingent out there. I think back to a dinner I attended several months ago at an older relatives' home. Surrounded by a number of men and women in their 60's and 70's, the talk turned to politics, and clearly, I was the only Democrat in the room. But what really caused jaws to drop was when I quietly stated that I was an Obama supporter. I was quickly bombarded with all the reasons why Obama was essentially evil incarnate. His middle name was Hussein. He was black. And so on ...

But here's what's great about America: most of us don't give a crap about any of the above. Worrying about someone's middle name? About their race? That's the old way of thinking, the same garbage that Karl Rove resurrected to help elect Bush. That's why I say that this is a transformational moment. It's a nail in the coffin for that old way of thinking, it's an excorcism of the old demons that have haunted America throughout our history.

Still ... let me interrupt that thought of optimism for a second with the ugliness that was on display during John McCain's concession speech tonight. The hostile crowd's negativity was embarassing, and is emblematic of the monster that McCain and Palin have helped to create in their losing effort. A huge part of me wants to give McCain all the credit in the world for going out on a high note, with an eloquent speech that called for unity across party lines. But I won't let him off that easy. McCain betrayed his own stated values in this campaign, and never wavered when things got ugly. If he had won the election, few could have said with a straight face that he took the high road to get there. I'm glad that tonight we got a glimpse of the old John McCain. But to me this is a man who has permanently tarnished his political legacy - one speech is simply too little, too late.

Back to Obama though, it really was amazing to see this already-iconic figure take the stage tonight and deliver a speech that was not simply self-congratulatory, but actually served as a real call to action. It seamlessly took Obama's campaign themes and transferred them from sales-pitches to agenda items. Pretty amazing.

What's really amazing though, is that for those of us who have long felt like there's been something seriously wrong with America for the last eight years, now there is just this sense of relief -- finally, the burden is lifted off our backs - finally, we can get down to business and turn a corner - finally, we can actually deal with the big issues at hand.

People were excited about this election, and finally, the enthusiasm of the people for change reached its boiling point. As strange as it sounds, it was awesome to see the constant status updates and postings on Facebook today. It's been even more fun talking and bonding with people during the last several months over our shared enthusiasm for political change. It's been encouraging to see my friends and peers taking an interest, getting involved, reading up on the issues, sharing opinions and ideas, and going out today and voting and getting excited about the results.

Five years ago, while studying abroad in London as the War In Iraq was starting, the American ideal really began to ring false to me. I struggled to explain to Londoners why we were preemptively at war with Iraq, and struggled to justify a nation that had elected a leader as incompetent as George W. Bush. It was unbelievable to think of all the goodwill we had squandered abroad in a matter of months following the attacks of September 11th. Despite Bush's Us vs. Them, Good vs. Evil mentality, I often thought of the book Heart of Darkness, which shows how even the most idealistic and "civilized" person is capable of savagery. In that book, the hero Marlow, having witnessed the horror that civilized man can perpetrate, returns to Europe from the savage lands of Africa and thinks that this, too, is one of the dark places of the earth. Under Bush, you couldn't help but wonder if America was also one of those dark places.

Tonight though, tonight I feel different. We did the right thing, and the light is once again shining. We're living up to our legend, and there is that sense of hope and possibility again. And as some commentators pointed out tonight - we got here without a war, without violence, without upheaval. We simply made a choice. And it's a stark reminder that America is actually pretty great. And seeing Obama up there giving that speech, realizing the moment we have now arrived at, well, you want to wave Old Glory, blast some Rick Derrenger, and proudly chant "U-S-A." Or maybe, in this case, it's "Yes-We-Can."

Because tonight may just be the night that America is Back. And it's about time!