"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

- Martin Luther King Jnr.

By electing Barack Hussein Obama the 44th President of the United States of America, we fulfilled the dream of Dr. King by judging Mr. Obama fit to govern, not on the basis of the color of his skin, but on the content of his character. It was a revolutionary thought forty years ago, even twenty years ago, and perhaps even just twenty months ago, but it has been realized in the sizzling flash of one election season. A forty seven year-old, first-term Senator taking on and beating the likes of a former first lady and former Vice Presidential candidate in the primaries and then a war hero in the general election are the stuff of legend and yet it played out before our very eyes. In fact, we made it happen before our very eyes.

Sometimes revolutions occur without a shot being fired.

But what happens after most revolutions? Greed. Infighting. Competing Agendas. Unrealized expectations. Dissention and Disappointment. Those who band together to effect change in leadership, often disintegrate once that leadership takes hold of government. It happened in post-revolutionary Russia, France (several times), and England. One place it didn’t occur was here -- post-revolutionary United States of America. So certain these men in their cause, so resolved in the realization of their ideals, they put aside their differences and strove to create a more perfect union -- one that protected life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

They were simpler times. The pursuit of happiness typically meant that government stayed out of the lives of the citizens so that they could grow crops or raise animals to feed and clothe their families, go to church on Sundays and spend their later years somewhere near a warm fireplace.

Today, our pursuit of happiness seems blocked at every angle. Our blackberries don’t upload our emails fast enough or the batteries to our iPods don’t hold the charge as long as we’d like. We’re forced to listen to thick foreign accents when our satellite TVs malfunction or our DVRs forget to automatically record our favorite programs. Friends hound us with debate on the merits of being pro-choice, opposed to gay marriage, convinced of global warming, protesting the death penalty, or maxing out our 401ks.

Does this generation, the one used to having everything they want when they want it, have the determination and patience to see this president through two terms and two mid-term elections? Do they understand that in our government, massive change is brought about slowly? Do they have what it takes to sustain their support (real support) or is their allegiance blind and Obama is supported with lip service but inaction?

Lastly, and most importantly, now that we’ve taken a step to move beyond race (and to some extent gender) in our national politics, can we continue to develop the content of our collective character?