Not only is this a monumental day for race relations in America, but I hope that it is the end of a political mindset. This country has been held in the grip of lies, propaganda, and political spin that caused the majority of Americans to distrust and loath ourselves. Thanks to the lingering effects of cold war propaganda, we lost the notion of "we the people". We've had a case of patriotic amnesia. For nearly 40 years we've been told "no we can't" when it comes our forefather's dreams of self-government. The neo-conservative mindset told us we are evil and we cannot govern. They told us we must turn our nation over to a few powerful business leaders who "know better". They told us that business interests would care for us while taking only a small fee for the service. They told us that in order to be safe, we must preemptively attack and kill "evil" in the name of "good". They sold us on the modern version of Pax Romana that created a false sense of peace through violent displays of power.

It is the way we read and interpret our history that determines our path forward. I have hope that today an old error is over. Today we begin a new era that believes our nation became great through patriotism and justice rather than greed and violence.