I was invited to a Dr. Martin Luther King commemorative program Monday and we were all touched by the fact that, this year, the day was different. It had added meaning. 40 years after Dr. King died fighting for equal rights, our nation’s first black president was actually taking office.

Hope filled the theater. But this must have been the case for each of these past many years. What was really moving on this day was that hope can be fulfilled. Hope can move America forward.

The presentation included a video of King era footage; marches, speeches and even the reaction of his staff upon his assassination.

A poignant and touching excerpt from King’s speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial resonated:

“We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: ‘For Whites Only.’ We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.”

Throughout time, so many people have either had no vote, or have felt that whatever their vote, it wouldn’t help them any. And in our own country, so many have certainly felt stripped of their self-hood. Our nation has the greatest amount of freedom anywhere. It is the bold pioneer of all modern democratic republics. But it is also huge – physically and philosophically. It grows in uneven, imperfect spurts. The dream can seem hypocritically exclusive at times. Our new president has gone so far as to call the US Constitution a “stained document” because it has not always truly covered all people.

In my own personal life, I have heard many stories of Italian immigrants harassed and dehumanized right outside the Statue of Liberty. Their self-hood was ripped away as some were arbitrarily given new names, some separated from their families, all turned loose onto hard streets that awarded scant ease, safety or well-being.

My grandfather was born to these people. As a child, trying to play baseball in public parks, he and his friends would be chased and beaten by the NY City Police who were there to protect him. The dream of America didn’t yet include him, but still, he shared it.

That child grew up believing in America despite his exclusion. To the hopeful, the believers, the day-to-day failures of our country don’t seem to stop them. It didn’t stop him from voluntarily enlisting to defend this country. My grandfather left two children in Queens to go fight in the pacific for years. So, however many the societal failures that could have spoiled his feeling for his country, the stain did not reach as far as the image he had in his mind. He returned home to build a life and yes, build parts of America, literally, as the owner of a large construction company.

So, there are moments that people won’t forget. Pearl Harbor, the loss of JFK, the moon landing. For me, being trapped in New York City on 9/11, enraptured with disgust, will be one. Another will be finishing my shift as a waiter in college one night and glancing up at the bar TV to see the first broadcast from the planet Mars when our rover finally made it.

This era right now will be something most of us will never forget. A man who called our constitution a “stained document”, a man who took it upon himself to represent the plight of those Americans who are mistreated and excluded, is now our president. Through that kind of hope and resolve, is the “stain” fading?

Whatever the answer, as a growth spurt, this is a huge one. Once again, we can claim that there is nothing like the dream of America. Not in arrogance, but as a beacon, we can remain a model for the rest of the world. A people can march on our capital in disapproval, speak out against the government that excludes them, and finally, rise to lead that same government, occupy that same capital.

This post is not any political statement. These are hard times. All presidents disappoint someone. Some, their detractors, some their supporters. Leaders with great potential have been dragged down, assassinated, overwhelmed by their times. Some are as surprising in their successes. Rather, I am talking about experiencing a moment in history. And about revitalizing confidence in the concept of America.

Ex Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker has said that the money in your wallet is only as good as the confidence we all collectively have in it. It is only paper. Our constitution, as well, is only paper. It is a concept kept alive by those who believe in it.

No president is our one great hope. The collective America that democratically votes him into office is that hope. No single man is truly big enough for the job of guiding and growing this country. Rather, we as a people are. We proved that much this week, and over the past 40 years, as we the believers grew that collective confidence, always letting hope drive America forward.