Ryan Benjamin | Proud to participate

Human beings across the globe rejoiced on Tuesday as the first black man was elected president of the United States. My friend Alba Martinez Muelas, a student at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, told me last week that for the first time in a while, Spaniards are beginning to trust and "love" America. "It's so emotional," she said. "If you had elected 'the other guy', we wouldn't have liked it very much."

Perhaps our fellow world citizens are amazed that we've made such a huge step in reconciling our history to elect Barack Obama.

So we should be proud. But for all those who keep saying how proud they are of America, last week wasn't about being proud of our country. That's like saying you're proud of your little brother because he scored the winning home run on his little league team. Rather, it's about being proud to be an American. We aren't outside observers; we're part of the process. And though the world's amazed at our progress, it's easy to forget how much other nations have always looked up to us.

Before studying abroad in Barcelona last year, I imagined Spaniards and other Europeans would look down on me, if only because of guilt by association with a tainted American image. But that's not what happened. I didn't encounter one single fiend of America or Americans, only fiends of its politics. The United States is revered for what its people embody - freedom, innovation and of course, the best movies and music.

This summer, when I traveled to Cambodia, a place with a history haunted by a genocide that killed 1.7 million people, I learned that there, too, the people love America. And even though U.S. forces damaged the ancient temples of Angkor Wat during the Vietnam War, the Cambodians showered us with praise for the wonderful nation we were representing. Like the Cambodians, members of other nations find it easy to separate a country's politics from its people.

I spent my Election Day volunteering as an interpreter for Spanish-speaking voters. I was genuinely surprised at the non-uniformity of the voting bloc in the lower Northeast. Of the 900 who voted at Creighton Thomas School that day, there were blacks, Irish, Italians, Jews, Hispanics, Vietnamese and Indians. Just west of Roosevelt Boulevard, it was amazing to see people of such different backgrounds come together to support a candidate and embrace each other for doing so. In all its idealism, bringing people together is what politics is all about. Obama couldn't just win with overwhelming support from blacks and liberal college students - he had to get those Hillary supporters, Reagan Dems and Latinos to seal the win.

Actually, racial and ethnic diversity around the country isn't so surprising anymore. Obama was able to win states like Virginia and North Carolina because of ever-changing demographics. By 2050, the Census Bureau predicts that minorities will be the majority in America.

Even our suburbs, which used to be reserved for the white and wealthy, aren't segregated now by race as much as they are by economic class - a growing and largely unrecognized problem. (The next barrier we need to cross is to elect a poor president.)

Although prejudice was once prevalent in American life and xenophobia still exists in subtle ways, perhaps the world respects us because no matter the change, we always look forward, not backward.

We are the envy of the world, and I'm not just saying that to feel good. We really are. After Sept. 11, we came together as a nation, but the last few years have largely shattered that solidarity.

Last Tuesday, beyond our economic prowess, we began to reaffirm our moral prowess. Let me be clear: If we had elected John McCain, we would've been just as moral; I actually really like the guy. But the fact that we could do this - despite our hesitations, racial or otherwise - now that's why I'm so proud to be an American.

Ryan Benjamin is a College senior from New Haven, Conn. His email is benjamin@dailypennsylvanian.com. A Connecticut Yankee appears on alternating Mondays.

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