January 21st 2009

I woke up this morning feeling a new sense of optimism, a new beginning almost. Why you may ask? Because I watched the Barack Obama inauguration. I am not American, nor black, I am not in a minority group either. I have been subject to sectarian abuse and ashamed to say have been guilty of it. I am not perfect and don't live in a perfect world. All I want is my children to grow up in a better world than I and generations before me. A world without prejudice. Barack Obama was inaugurated as President of the most powerful country in the world yesterday, not because of his colour or religion, but because the voters believed he was the right man for the job. He is a man not much older than I, a man I would not have been able to sit next to on a bus 60 years ago. A man who has reaffirmed my belief that no matter how hard the battle, it can be won if it is right.

It is not that I know much about politics or the policies, it is the fact that traditional prejudices did not get in the way of peoples choices. You see our world is in a mess, credit crunch, recession, poverty, wars, to use a few soundbites. Nothing must get in the way of the right people being in the right positions to get us through it. America has now shown the way, the rest of the world can follow suit.

Lizzy and I will bring our girls up to be good people, tolerant, to treat others as they wish to be treated themselves. When they are ready to go out on their own into the world it might, just might, be a better place.

You may wonder why events on the other side of the world can affect me in my little village in the mountains of Spain. Well it has, it has made me believe that anything is possible again. That walls can be pulled down and obstacles overcome. It has given me hope.

Sorry to have rambled on a bit too much, I doubt if President Obama will even read this, but it's possible.......