Dreams From My Father
I immediately identified with this story in a very personal way, as I’m sure many of us have as well.
Only recently, my dad shared his story of growing up in British colonial West Africa with me. His struggles as the son of a carpenter who could barely afford to support him through high school, his perseverance through a serendipitous path through college which eventually lead him to the UK and America and a career that gave him the opportunity to experience cultures all over the world.
I was there for most of his journey, as a child, a teenager and a young adult. Those experiences along with the nurture of my family are what have formed my character, values, beliefs and much of my personality.
There is a popular mythological view of a freedom of choice derived from a presumed notion of a default equal opportunity merely due to ones existence. This sort of thinking demonstrates a very cancerous apathy and quite frankly an insidious stupidity.
Last night was the beginning of a social revolution in America and it resonated across the world. I considered myself very fortunate to be alive to witness it. As a scientist, I often cite pertinent historical references in support of my thesis and/or hypothesis. However, there’s always that one “nail in the coffin” citation that strongly validates it.
What Obama has achieved is just that. That one solid real-time reference a parent can cite when they tell their child, “you can be whatever you want to be!”
This is no longer an inspirational fable, but reality.
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