At my naturalization ceremony a few years ago, I was told to denounce my Nigeria and declare my US citizenship. I confess to not really fully repeating the words about denouncing mostly because as messed up as we are as a country, i still have great pride in identifying with Nigeria. It was really my life for a long time. And at that time, America was just where I lived.
And then these past few months, today ... i get the appeal of this great nation. I get why one tribe or one race or one people cannot claim such a dynamic peoplehood. It is truly much bigger than one set of ideology; the best of all people and all ideas.
Today I am more than proud to be an American and to raise my future children as Americans. They will not have one culture but a beautiful blend of the many that make up this great union.
There are already a few crazy things President Obama has inspired me to do ...
- Downloading and printing out the US Government organizational structure on Nov. 5th and actually studying it so I could be prepared to ride along for the next 8 years. I almost regret not retaining anything from high school social studies.
- Stalking Dailykos and HuffingtonPost daily to keep up with what is going on around my world. I am seriously lurking on here at the very least 10 times a day.
- A very crazy tiny thought forming behind my head that I could/may/want to be US Senator a someday. I am very surprised to find myself not rebuking this thought.
This may all seem like a simple case of late blooming to you people but see, but in Nigeria we actually try to forget that we have government and hope to never have anything to do with it.
Some people are still very nervous about President Obama and hoping he delivers. I think I have figured out why I am so positive that He will do greater than we imagine. It is really not about what He will do, it is about what he is inspiring us to do. When Americans are activated and our leader is honest, there is really not much we can't accomplish.
What really tops off this day for me is this surreal fact: that which is too good to be true is actually true.
That, my friends, is the only explanation for the unspeakable joy we all feel today.