"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." -- Martin Luther King Jr.
"This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can." --Barack ObamaI feel like I have done a pretty good job keeping this blog free and clear of political preferences but that is about to change. I keep hearing people who actually believe Americans elected Obama to simply appease racial guilt. This infuriates me. I did not vote for Obama because he is black but because he was the better candidate. He didn't win me over by smearing John McCain through the mud....he won me over with his policies and his beliefs. I see this election and the results as a sign that America is at a point in its history that the need for real leadership and the desire for solutions to real problems are color-blind. Congratulations President Obama.
"I believe that there will ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those who do the oppressing. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice, and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the system of exploitation. I believe that there will be that kind of clash, but I don't think it will be based on the colour of the skin." - Malcolm X
Oh, and by the way, everyone knows that ex-athletes are the hardest workers.
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1 comment:
Amen! Everyone keeps raving about how gracious McCain's defeat speech was, but all I could keep thinking was that he wouldn't shut up about the race issue...and the effect for me was that it made it seem like McCain was saying that Obama won on race alone.
Which he clearly did not. He won because he galvanized a nation of voters in a way that no one has before, because he motivated us to feel hope in our ability to work towards change TOGETHER. And because he so clearly expects from us the hard work, determination, optimism, honesty, and humanity that he expects of himself.
I certainly think that this is a momentous historical moment from the point of view given the struggles of the civil rights movement a mere 45 years ago...but I'm also in complete agreement that focusing TOO much on the racial aspects of this achievement is not giving enough credit where credit is due.
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