- 29 August 2008
- 0 Comments
- Election 2008
Guest post by Negin Sobhani
NIAC is a non-profit, non-partisan 501 c(3), and therefore does not endorse candidates for political office. The following article should not be interpreted as an endorsement of any candidate for any office, and reflects solely the personal opinion of the author.
I understand Michelle Obama now more than ever. On Thursday, August 28, 2008, for the first time in my 26 years, I was truly proud of America and to be an American citizen. It went a little deeper than that though, because for the first time in my life, I cried during the singing of the national anthem. Usually, I have not been moved by emotions of the Olympian, soldier, astronaut, veteran, politician, or baseball player who stands up and pays homage to a flag and country that has not instilled in me that level of nationalism that it has for those who have more roots or owe their achievements solely to this country. I’m not sure if it was the way Jennifer Hudson sang the most beautiful and heartfelt rendition of the anthem I’ve ever heard or if it was the cumulative exhaustion from a 5-day whirlwind of events, activities, and sleeplessness or perhaps the sheer historic importance of the opening to a night I will remember for the rest of my life. Whatever it was, I know I wasn’t alone.