When I woke up this morning the 2nd thought I had (first being 'Jesus Christ I need to close the curtains before I go to sleep so the sun doesn't hit me straight in the head!) was of Obama. I had a feeling that was more then hope.. it was inspiration. He is not the first black man to achieve something extraordinary. He is however the first black man (and I won't bother with semantics of 'half white/half black' bah..) to truly and utterly do something that I don't believe any of us thought was possible in our lifetime.

The Presidency of the USA was being fiercely held as an almost white man sanctuary - even a women President would still be a miracle. It had always felt like that no matter what other achievements a black man or woman could have they could never have the right to become President.

Today - now that that last barrier has been smashed through - it really feels like anything is possible for anyone. No more excuses! No more thinking you are any less deserving because of where you grew up or what you did or didn't have in your life. If this one thing does not prove to everyone that they have the power within themselves to achieve anything they wish then I don't know what will do it.

This is the number one reason (in my opinion) why the election was so important to the rest of the world. Obviously the other reasons being that what ever happens in the US does in fact affect the rest of us - a lot.. a hell of a lot.. this economic crisis we are all feeling is a direct result of the sub prime lending crisis.. which in turn had a domino effect on banks throughout the entire world!

The world does not operate on a country by country basis anymore - it is too intricately connected in our day and age. The butterfly effect (I'm an old Chaos Theorist) of something that happens in Asia, the US, the Middle East, Europe etc affects us all - even if you don't feel it today while you are making tea in your home in a country far removed physically from the action. It affects us all in time. It affects your grocery prices, it affects your petrol prices, it affects your mortgages, it affects your belief system when you need to decide if we should be involved in a war that was propagated out of lies - or how you react to a situation like the Bali Bombers - which is also a direct result of being aligned with the US.

I believe the entire world has had a hand in electing Obama. I believe (as scary as some might think this is) that it is partly due to the phenomenon of social networking sites like facebook that encouraged more young people then ever before in the states to register to vote. I believe because of friendships that span countries and the web of technology devices - information and opinions from outside the US had an affect on propelling Americans to have a say this time, not to make the mistake again like Bush. I believe because we are all watching and commenting loudly that Americans have begun to understand they are not in their own bubble. I believe there has been a major shift in the belief that one person can make a difference. This is why a record number of Americans voted and why some of them stood in line for hours to do so - when 4 years ago the scene was almost the complete opposite. What we have seen in the past 24 hours is human nature at it's best.... when up against a wall survival techniques need to kick in.

At the end of the day it is not really about Obama being 'black'. It is about making a change in direction (as simplistic as that is) and choosing someone who possibly (hopefully) has the ability to begin the process of rectifying years of global abuse - human and mother nature. What will happen from here on will be interesting.. I like a world that gives a fuck and right now that is what it is doing.