Barack Obama just became President of the world - but it is Americans of all shades and backgrounds and stories who are the proudest ones of all.

In one instant America and the world has changed forever and all of us Americans who proudly voted - for the first time with a real sense of support for the candidate, rather than the intention of stopping the other man from ruining our livelihoods - we are brimming with hope and history.

As we watch the television screens and float in a sense of awe and disbelief, we see images of people all over the world - especially in Kenya - who remind us how lucky we are to have the opportunity to vote in the United States. I often wonder how many of them wish they could vote too.

But the truth is that we, each and every one of us, voted in their place. Iranian-Americans like myself voted for all of those Iranians who wish their country could be given a chance to realize its immense possibilities. African Americans voted for all of those Africans past and present whose struggles and stoicism seek deserved rewards. European Americans voted for their ancestors who left Europe and came to America to seek that infamous dream and their families who today work so hard to realize it. Latin Americans voted for all of those relatives whose sacrifices led them to a nation where their effort could redeem a life worth living.

We all voted for those Iraqis, Afghanis, Pakistanis, servicemen and women, and other victims of a meaningless corporate war whose brutal fortunes can be reversed with a leader who has some measure of humanity.

Tonight, the American people didn't just unite their states, they united the world: a world that in 7 short years had seen the nadir of hate, had witnessed the horror of inhumanity, had suffered the contemptible accusation that not all people are created equal.

From the "black" faces in the crowd at Grant Park who stood muted with awe to the "white" faces who jubilantly glowed with the affirmation of joint compassion and responsibility - Americans overwhelmingly mandated a change from divisive, hateful politics to inclusive and optimistic human relations in this the 21st century.

For the first time in our lifetimes, Americans have shown their best side on election night - they've proven to the world that this country is well and truly a melting pot of ideologies, races, religions, and creeds and with that it has the capability to bring all of these differences together toward the common goal of a pursuit of happiness for all. We are willing, Americans said. I will do my best, Obama answered.

President-elect Obama thanked all of us tonight -- his speech was an acknowledgment that we all had hired him with the responsibility to better our world. He humbly accepted our mandate, both with a profound sense of history and a compassionate appreciation that we and he have changed the entire world for the better.