Caught up in the era of Hope
I didn't vote for Obama. My stance on fundamental issues - smaller government, abortion, health care, etc... and his limited experience with foreign policy, led me to vote for McCain. But even though "my" candidate lost, I wasn't crushed. I think that either one of them would have done the best possible job they could, and it would be ok. After the election I started wondering about this new president-elect. Where did he come from? Where does his money come from? Can a black president really speak to issues that concern me, or will he be caught up trying to appease the minorities that the majority gets the shaft? What about a president that is a "Democrat"? (sometimes said like a dirty word, unfortunately. Of course, I've heard "Republican" spit out in the same contemptous tone, so I'd say that we all suck when it comes to loving our neighbor.)
I started looking for a way to get to know him that wasn't purely political propoganda. I decided to read his first book - Dreams From My Father - which was published back in 1995, before he hit the national spotlight. At Harvard Law he was elected the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, and as such was approached by a publisher to write this book. A "story of race and inheritance", the title suggests. It was really good. Even though quite a few times I had to hold my anger in check and remember that the book was set in a different time. That (hopefully) the race divisions that form the crux of the book aren't so painful anymore. (Although I suspect that might be wishful thinking, and that I've allowed some of these issues to be white-washed in my mind.) I also think that his bi-racial status - having to question deeply any claims made against either race - has perhaps led him to be the most perfect solution to the race issue that is possible at this time.
Tomorrow is I-day. The inauguration of the first (half) black president. I find myself caught up in the spirit of Obama's campaign: hope. Hope tempered with skepticism and a little bit of fear of disappointment. This is (I think) a monumental shift for America, and I worry that those murderers of hope, the people who act only out of fear, will do something monumentally stupid to screw it up. I would like to see him soar or fall on his own merits.
I started looking for a way to get to know him that wasn't purely political propoganda. I decided to read his first book - Dreams From My Father - which was published back in 1995, before he hit the national spotlight. At Harvard Law he was elected the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, and as such was approached by a publisher to write this book. A "story of race and inheritance", the title suggests. It was really good. Even though quite a few times I had to hold my anger in check and remember that the book was set in a different time. That (hopefully) the race divisions that form the crux of the book aren't so painful anymore. (Although I suspect that might be wishful thinking, and that I've allowed some of these issues to be white-washed in my mind.) I also think that his bi-racial status - having to question deeply any claims made against either race - has perhaps led him to be the most perfect solution to the race issue that is possible at this time.
Tomorrow is I-day. The inauguration of the first (half) black president. I find myself caught up in the spirit of Obama's campaign: hope. Hope tempered with skepticism and a little bit of fear of disappointment. This is (I think) a monumental shift for America, and I worry that those murderers of hope, the people who act only out of fear, will do something monumentally stupid to screw it up. I would like to see him soar or fall on his own merits.
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