For most of you that know me it's not secret that I am not an Obama fan. I did watch the inauguration yesterday because I was interested in what he had to say as our new Commander-in-Chief. His speech was mediocre, in my opinion, it was not comparable to a JFK or a Reagan as the media would lead everyone to believe.
Was yesterday a historic day? Yes, absolutely but I feel like we have really missed the boat on this one and have really not accomplished much of anything, which is a shame. The Presidential race is about choosing a leader for our country that the majority(or the electoral college) believes will best lead us in domestic and international affairs. This years race was nothing of the sort. Voters came out in record numbers to vote but the ONLY issue was RACE. An alarming majority of those that voted were utterly clueless on any of the issues, as seen time and time again in clips of people being interviewed. They were asked what they thought of "Obama's running mate, Sarah Palin" and if they agreed with Obama's "Pro-life" stance. The answers would be nothing short of comical if they weren't so frightening.
These are the people that just selected our new President. They voted for him because he's black and only because he's black and some of them were honest enough to come right out and say so. They thought it would make them feel good to have a Black man running this country. Now for the rest of the people that voted for him...some people are educated on the issues and did vote for him based on their own convictions and to those people I applaud you, but I also feel like there is a contingent of non-black Americans who voted for Obama because it absolved them of being a racist. On the flip side of that I feel like a finger could easily be pointed in my direction because I did not vote for him so therefore I must hate black people.
Sadly, I think this election will make race more of an issue in day to day life than it ever has.
Back to this boat we missed...Obama was elected because of the "entitlement crowd" fueled by celebrities and the media, we turned our highest office into an idolatrous mess. Blind worship of a man we really don't know that much about who has virtually NO experience. Awesome...this should be fun.
Our boat will have arrived when we can elect someone for their qualifications and platform alone without regard for race or gender or what other prejudices may come up. Then and ONLY then will we have conquered racism in this country. But maybe we had to get through this first one in order for that to happen...time will tell.
And remember:
"Fifty-five million people voted against Obama, so I don't know where the notion got started that 80% of the country is excited about him and can't wait for him to be President." -Rush Limbaugh
Now on to more trivial matters. To all the people who were CRYING during his speech...unless you are over the age of 60 and have experienced REAL racism, dry it up. Harsh? Yes, but dammit, your life is cake. Have you lived in fear of the KKK and being lynched or tried to walk across a bridge in Selma, Alabama only to be greeted by a cloud of tear gas and batons? Did you ever have to use separate facilities or live through the integration of schools? The answer is NO. You've grown up in a world of Affirmative Action. Where jobs and places in Universities are held for you because you are a minority. You are allowed to underachieve and still succeed. Please spare me from the "I cry for my ancestors" BS. Your ancestors also fought in every war this country has engaged in since the Civil War, where are your tears for them? Funny how that works.
It may seem like I really can't stand Obama but I want to make something clear to everyone who may come across this entry: I do not hate Obama, hate is a very strong word with implications I won't even entertain. Now, having said that, I do not like his policies and I believe that is my right, as it is my right say so. I do not think he's a monster and he's not going to single handedly destroy this country, although it may look very different and the end of 4 (or 8) years. I think that Obama believes his heart is in the right place, however misguided I might believe that to be. I also think that, politics aside, he's a good guy, he loves his wife and his girls and that is something to be respected.
I've written this post over several days and I realize it doesn't flow well, but oh well. I have a Stat quiz I should be studying for right now so revision is not really an option. So here I go on another tangent that occurred to me yesterday in regards to people of mixed race. Has anyone else noticed how many people of mixed race declare themselves to be Black, completely denouncing the other half of their heritage? Normallly, I would just say whatever and not really give it much thought but it made me think of a good friend's little girl, who is half black and half white. My friend is white and the black father is...'not involved'. In fact he last saw her when she was about 6 months old and stopped supporting her financially shortly after. It's been up to my friend to raise her daughter. She has great support from her family for which she is grateful.
Now let's take a look at people like Obama, Halle Berry and Alicia Keys. Obama was mostly raised by his white grandparents and the best he could say about them is that they are "typical white people". Halle Berry and Alicia Keys were both raised by their single white mothers after their black fathers became 'not involved'. It blows me away that not one of these people have expressed any pride in their white heritage after their mothers struggled to raise them alone, yet they seem to identify totally with the heritage of these men that left them. I am genuinely curious as to why this happens. I'm not saying that they should declare themselves white but just maybe to acknowledge it. I know my friend struggles with how to raise her daughter to be proud of her heritage on both sides since her father can't be bothered so I'm just wondering how the people I've mentioned came to decide they were black and only black. Was the black community more accepting? Was it more convenient to be black in Hollywood? I just don't know and I suppose each one's situation is different. I'd welcome any comments anyone has on this topic. Cate, if you happen to read this I'd be especially interested in your input since you've done such a great job of exposing your girls to their own cultures as well as others.
On that note...I'm off to study some statistics. Yay.
