The United States has always made a big fuss about their freedoms and opportunities. They bill themselves as the land where anyone can achieve anything. While this is a nice thought, the reality is, generally, not so altruistic. The rich control the policy at the expense of the poor. A person becomes powerful because his rich father put him there, and the man scraping by in the inner city will find his son doing much the same.

But, I must say, the election of Barak Obama as President is one huge jump forward for our southern neighbours. For once, the hype of America has become a reality. A black man has done the not-long-ago unthinkable and become President of the United States. It is finally, actually, a concrete example of what can be done in America, and that is something that gives tremendous hope to all of its people.

Time will tell whether or not he will prove to be a skilled President, but after eight years of the terror that has been in office, this is clearly and unequivocally a huge step forward.

My southern friends, I applaud thee.