We have done an amazing thing! I refer, of course, to the fact that the American voting public has elected Barak Obama to be the next President of the United States. I’m still absorbing the reality of this. I’m still doing a double take and asking, “What just happened?†This is a significant and positive turning point in history. That goes without saying. What is less obvious is how infrequently one gets to witness such an event. I haven’t felt this stunned and euphoric about any single event since Neil Armstrong walked on the moon! We can argue the comparative importance of that event until the cows come home and draw no conclusion. There is, however, an important lesson to be learned from that event. What we proved, with the moon walk and last Tuesday’s election, is that we can set a goal and achieve it. This may also seem painfully obvious. But, in 1969 as now, there were many of us who were beginning to wonder if the light at the end of the tunnel hadn’t been snuffed out. Then as now, there were many of us who wondered if the American Dream wasn’t just some sort of cruel myth. Then as now, the Dream has been proven to be alive and well if we are willing to do the work needed to realize it. As President-Elect Obama pointed out, there is much work yet to be done. We need to get to it ASAP. Remember that the price of freedom is vigilance. The price of progress is labor. Be well. Stephen Lee Rich