I'm only 21 years old, and even I never thought I'd see the day.
Maybe my standards of America are severely lower than most. Maybe I've bought into the pessimism accompanying racial divisions in America. Maybe I'm just naive.
I still believe November 4th was a dream realized.
We've heard stories of 100-year-old men and women wishing beyond wish, hoping beyond sane limits of hope, that America could possibly overcome a huge source of animosity and ambivalence.
If insanity is expecting a different end from the same means, those previously considered insane were released from the asylum.
Now a different notion surrounds me. In a class of mine, a new prism of racism revealed itself. It was mentioned, and later concurred, that it is racist to take pride in Barack Obama's presidency, thinking that our election of a "black" man both transcends and ends racism.
While I agree with this thought -- especially since Obama is a mutt, like me -- I find it somewhat condescending to criticize those reveling in Obama's presidency merely due to his race and not his policies. Personally, I voted for Obama because I read his book, The Audacity of Hope, and found it to be as close a referendum of how politics were, are, and will be in the future. I believed his message of bridge-building in any situation.
It reminds me of a scene from The West Wing. President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen), in the middle of a particularly busy day, sat in a meeting with essentially his ideological counterpart. The pair agree that President Bartlet is "a tree-hugging, baby-killing commie liberal," while his opponent is "a gun-totin', redneck son of a bitch," but the pair agree on campaign finance reform.
The "either-or" mentality that plagues most, if not all, of our political discussions have proven detrimental to the gathering of solutions. Americans have either been "pro-life" or "pro-choice," or even "pro-death," depending on who you ask. We're either pro or anti-gay marriage, pro or anti-capital punishment, pro or anti-the war.
One thing we seem not to aspire to, however, is pro-solutions.
It's easy to give a diatribe on "coming together" with "common hopes" and "bridge the gaps" to "strive for equality."
Using buzz words and phrases has always been easy than tackling issues head on.
And that last phrase is my personal favorite. I've always wanted to tackle abortion head on.
But in Barack Obama, we find the whole of America. With an exotic upbringing combined with middle-American roots and a penchant for knowledge and understanding, Obama's election was and still is a symbol of what Americans can achieve. Remaining complacent on this sentiment, however, will leave us with the same gridlock that has plagued our politics for decades.
Gridlock, though, is the balance that prevents potential supermajorities from oppressing the minority viewpoint. Consult Alexander Hamilton if you're confused. Stagnancy is what prevents our democratic republic from becoming an aristocracy, or even a totalitarian state.
So to those fearful of the future, for those excited at the prospect -- and in January, the reality -- of an Obama presidency, for all of us, please follow these four steps:
1. Read The Audacity of Hope.
2. Look inside yourself for the issue you feel the most passionate about, and try to find someone who completely disagrees. (For traditional conservatives out there, just find me. Chances are we disagree on something.)
3. Start a debate.
4. After the issue is exhausted, given you haven't cursed out your opponent, thank the other, and invite them to continue exploring the issue further.
Politics aren't meant to be scary. They also aren't meant to be handled by "someone that really cares about that thing or whatever." Politics involve both the best and the worst of all of us. Freedom and equality provide us the opportunity to debate.
So please join me and President-Elect Obama in this, the limitless pursuit of a dream realized.
Yes, oh yes, we can. More than that, we should.
And we will.
Maybe my standards of America are severely lower than most. Maybe I've bought into the pessimism accompanying racial divisions in America. Maybe I'm just naive.
I still believe November 4th was a dream realized.
We've heard stories of 100-year-old men and women wishing beyond wish, hoping beyond sane limits of hope, that America could possibly overcome a huge source of animosity and ambivalence.
If insanity is expecting a different end from the same means, those previously considered insane were released from the asylum.
Now a different notion surrounds me. In a class of mine, a new prism of racism revealed itself. It was mentioned, and later concurred, that it is racist to take pride in Barack Obama's presidency, thinking that our election of a "black" man both transcends and ends racism.
While I agree with this thought -- especially since Obama is a mutt, like me -- I find it somewhat condescending to criticize those reveling in Obama's presidency merely due to his race and not his policies. Personally, I voted for Obama because I read his book, The Audacity of Hope, and found it to be as close a referendum of how politics were, are, and will be in the future. I believed his message of bridge-building in any situation.
It reminds me of a scene from The West Wing. President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen), in the middle of a particularly busy day, sat in a meeting with essentially his ideological counterpart. The pair agree that President Bartlet is "a tree-hugging, baby-killing commie liberal," while his opponent is "a gun-totin', redneck son of a bitch," but the pair agree on campaign finance reform.
The "either-or" mentality that plagues most, if not all, of our political discussions have proven detrimental to the gathering of solutions. Americans have either been "pro-life" or "pro-choice," or even "pro-death," depending on who you ask. We're either pro or anti-gay marriage, pro or anti-capital punishment, pro or anti-the war.
One thing we seem not to aspire to, however, is pro-solutions.
It's easy to give a diatribe on "coming together" with "common hopes" and "bridge the gaps" to "strive for equality."
Using buzz words and phrases has always been easy than tackling issues head on.
And that last phrase is my personal favorite. I've always wanted to tackle abortion head on.
But in Barack Obama, we find the whole of America. With an exotic upbringing combined with middle-American roots and a penchant for knowledge and understanding, Obama's election was and still is a symbol of what Americans can achieve. Remaining complacent on this sentiment, however, will leave us with the same gridlock that has plagued our politics for decades.
Gridlock, though, is the balance that prevents potential supermajorities from oppressing the minority viewpoint. Consult Alexander Hamilton if you're confused. Stagnancy is what prevents our democratic republic from becoming an aristocracy, or even a totalitarian state.
So to those fearful of the future, for those excited at the prospect -- and in January, the reality -- of an Obama presidency, for all of us, please follow these four steps:
1. Read The Audacity of Hope.
2. Look inside yourself for the issue you feel the most passionate about, and try to find someone who completely disagrees. (For traditional conservatives out there, just find me. Chances are we disagree on something.)
3. Start a debate.
4. After the issue is exhausted, given you haven't cursed out your opponent, thank the other, and invite them to continue exploring the issue further.
Politics aren't meant to be scary. They also aren't meant to be handled by "someone that really cares about that thing or whatever." Politics involve both the best and the worst of all of us. Freedom and equality provide us the opportunity to debate.
So please join me and President-Elect Obama in this, the limitless pursuit of a dream realized.
Yes, oh yes, we can. More than that, we should.
And we will.
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