I watched the election results pour in tonight from a bar in Cape Town, South Africa. It is clear that the energy and electricity of our country and the significance of this election has vibrated across the world, and for the first time in recent memory, I can shout in the streets that I am American and be proud of the progress, hope, and color that now defines us. For too long, “American” has been a dirty word, and I have been ashamed to hang an American flag, to wear red, white and blue, or to tell anyone that I come from the country that has inflicted so much pain and destruction on the world.
But this morning, as my friends and I left the bar where we were watching CNN and walked along the bustling main road, all South Africans shared our joy and screamed out windows, honked horns, waved and showed huge smiles. We are not alone in our struggle any longer. We have rejoined the world. And I couldn’t be happier.
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