It's OOOOOOO-Day

dear friends -
I can barely focus today because I've been reading voraciously - emails from all over the world, appraisals of this moment written by various great minds and spirits, some well known and some as yet unsung.

Last night was one of rapture, surrounded by hundreds of islanders, many of whom have worked for social change for so many decades, very rarely getting to see a victory so splendid as this one. I was so grateful to be there, hugging crying people, yelping for joy with each new result visible on the large projection screens. Many people remarked that it was like vanquishing the Nazis, as D-Day might have felt. We called it OOOOO-Day, and raised our fists in solidarity and danced and spread our "congratulations" around the room. My son was there, and at age 13, after all the troubles he's witnessed in his short life, I was so elated to see his face light up with the pleasure of seeing something truly good happen. He hugged people freely and bounced on his feet - wow, a chance to see the world as something beyond disappointing - it was the youth who were a large part of what made it happen. The crowd danced and carried on til late in the night, occasionally pausing to weep with the people they saw in Grant Park.

I came home to feast on blogs from friends, current students and former ones, Facebook and images of this new day, and a sense of possibility pouring in from around the world. Check out the slide show here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

We still have many nightmares to unravel, and that will take years, probably decades, to sort through - we need to relish this moment of joy and it will hopefully sustain us.

Check out this beautiful editorial from the NY Times and the blogged responses that follow - very refreshing and grounded people (mostly).

http://planetwaves.net/pagetwo/2008/11/05/the-next-president/

and then read Michael Moore's view of the moment:
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?id=240