The recent historic election of Barack Obama to the U.S. presidency sent a clear message not only to Americans but the rest of the world.

What it did is show changes being made here in America brought about by the blood, sweat and tears of many heroes, sung and unsung.

By America’s vote, it has shown what can be accomplished when we all, black, white, Asian, Native Americans and others work together to make this a better place.

President-elect Obama made dramatic gains in states that have a history of voting Republican. Although he did not carry all of these, he did carry enough of the suburban vote to win, turning many red states blue. The message sent by surburbanites, mainly college-educated white voters with a sprinkling of ethnic voters, is clear. The message sent to Joe Sixpack, Joe the Plummer and evangelical Christians, whose agenda has not always been very Christian-like, is we no longer want you pushing your platform on us. We are pushing back.

Needless to say, Oklahoma is a disappointment, though not surprising,

It is the reddest of red states, the only state in which Obama did not carry at least one county. One poll taken in Oklahoma showed 63 percent of those responding said they knew at least one person voting along racial lines. This may strike some as small until you expand it exponentially.

Some pollsters attribute the Oklahoma vote as reflective of the evangelical conservative agenda. There is reason to believe racist attitudes are alive and well in this state. An example of sorry racist attitudes in Oklahoma is passage of HB 1804.

One must also understand the lack of an educational level of many Oklahomans breeds ignorance, and they can be easily led or misled, as exemplified by those who represent Oklahoma in Congress.

I can now express my profound pride in America, even though we are not where we want to be.

Obama will assume the presidency in the worst of times since FDR. However, if we continue pulling together we shall overcome these obstacles not only for ourselves, but for the whole world.

Cedric johnson

Muskogee