Comments on: This American Moment

By: magwa101

magwa101 — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:06:18 +0000

Cynical people may say we’ll see if there is a difference, what they fail to see is that from this point forward, everything is different. Every kid in the world sees this and knows they can become a leader too.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:43:58 +0000

I find it a little dissapointing that many are celebrating the fact than an african american won the election over the fact that a very inspiring, very intelligent, and very capable leader has won, his race, or gender for that matter, being irrelevant. It seems to me that Obama ran, or at least tried to run, as a candidate who transcended race. But we have consistently dragged him back down to this matter which continues to burdened our minds and hearts. Whether it be comments of campaign accusations of reverse discrimination, the Rev Wright video clips, or even the lopsided voting trends of african americans, we can’t seem to let it go. In this matter, Obama may personify what we strive to be. But in our elation in his victory in becomming “the first black president”, we miss the point of the example he has set.

By: Corwyn

Corwyn — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:39:46 +0000

While I am pleased that Obama won for the social implications and the inspiration for the african american community. My joy is tempered by what is IMHO an “I got mine” attitude that is more prevalent from the AA community then an enlightenment of/for equality.

I think that it is both shameful and a betrayal of Rev. Kings dream that the African American community is largely responsible for the passage of ban gay marriage amendments in CA, FL and AZ among others!

For the entire history of constitutional work and the entirety of the civil rights movement constitutions have always been about EXTENDING and GIVING rights to those who have been abused.

The FIRST, and perhaps the most shameful, time in Constitutional history people voted to TAKE away a groups rights and it was made possible to a large part because of the african american vote.

Apparently the AA communities sense of justice and equality was/is not keen enough to recognize that THEY are just as guilty of hatred and irrational bigotry as those white southerns were for believing that Africans are only 3/5th human and that mixed marriages should be banned because they are against gods will or that blacks should not be judged by the content of their characters, but by their skin color.

I guess we still have a long ways to go.

PS.

I am white, married not in the closet and to the best of my knowledge have no close friends or relatives that are gay. So I have no skin in this game.

But Hypocrisy is hypocrisy and just as whites from the North marched with blacks in Selma, people should do the same for others

By: Alec Simpson

Alec Simpson — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 07:03:38 +0000

I am Canadian in Calgary, Alberta. I prayed for the election of Obama. You can be sure, though, it had nothing to do with his race or creed. He is just plainly a good person!

I have the hope of which he speaks. Regardless of all of the pressure that will be brought to bear, he will do his utmost to do the right thing.

Please let him be the person he is. The USA will be the greatest country again if you do.

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:27:06 +0000

Answer to Gretchen: All significant polls showed that The West Coast states were overwhelmingly for Obama. The media waited until the 11 PM (EST) polling place closings on the coast, and then, even without the actual returns in, it was “safe” to call the race for Obama, because the electoral numbers from CA, OR, and WA were more than enough to put him over the top.

By: Gretchen

Gretchen — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 02:42:47 +0000

I’m pleased and relieved that we elected a black man to the presidency. It was a long time coming. (And I say that as a white woman.) But I voted for Obama because he’s a genius. How lucky we are to have him.

By: Susan

Susan — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 02:35:00 +0000

I am thrilled as I supported Obama. My question is how could the west coast states be called so quickly with polls barely closed? While watching the results come in our governor race was showing 0% for the candidates and yet the Presidential race was decided. Just curious.
Susan

By: Linda Sheffler

Linda Sheffler — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 01:50:48 +0000

I agree that Obama was not elected because he was black, or because of the youth vote. My mother will turn 88 on Inauguration Day. She left the Republican Party when GWBush became president. She started reading everything she could find by and about Obama when he became a Senator. She was thrilled when he became a presidential candidate, because of his intelligence, levelheadedness, ability to bridge divides, diverse background, work ethic, etc. I am a little tired of people who want to simplify and categorize the candidates and the voters. Maybe black people, old people, white women, even George Wallace’s daughter (really!) voted for Obama because based on they made an educated choice on the person they though was the best candidate.
L. Sheffler

By: Alma T. Bell

Alma T. Bell — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 21:26:43 +0000

I wonder what the caller and her friend did when the waitress she talked about expressed her feelings about the possibility of the President-Elect being murdered. Could she possibily have continued with her lunch and thereby supported this person? I certainly hope not.
A. T. Bell

By: AV

AV — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:50:45 +0000

Can you imagine Obama making an a priori decision to invade Iraq in spite of the known evidence, and then engaging in a concerted attempt to create and interpret “evidence” of WND and 9/11 involvement? I certainly cannot.

Patrick, if the basis of your imagination is that the Democrats are peace-loving, you might want to look at the record of Bill Clinton vis-a-vis Iraq and sanctions, and whether Clinton reversed course on US policies related to Iraq that were set by Bush Sr. You might want to take a look at the following:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_Liberation_Act

as well as the reasons for bombing Al-Shifa factory:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Shifa_pharmaceutical_factory

(Though there’s also Wag-the-Dog theory for this bombing as well as bombing of Iraq by Clinton.)

When compared to Bush, there’s reason to be hopeful, but I’ll wait for some evidence before declaring that Obama is not for continuation of US military policies or will reduce the US military-industrial complex, before making such unfalsifiable claims. (I’ve heard such similar unfalsifiable claims about Gore too when there’s little-to-no evidence to make such claims.) But given that Obama is choosing quite a few Clinton advisers to serve in his own cabinet, it doesn’t look like much is going to change.

So there’s no reason to pull down those websites that run a count of innocent Iraqis killed because of US aggression.

Bush’s “Bad Cop” and Obama’s “Good Cop” shouldn’t cloud our judgment as well as make us blind to the reality that the bar may be set really really low for Obama. It’s best to expect more of him, rather than being lulled into complacency that all will be wonderful with the world now that a Democrat is in the White House. To innocent Iraqis dying in Iraq, it doesn’t matter whether it is Bush in the WH or Obama. And it shouldn’t make a difference to us either – we should continue to be as outraged as we were before when Iraqis were being killed on Bush’s watch.

By: AV

AV — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:24:26 +0000

as well as the reasons for bombing Al-Shifa factory:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Shifa_pharmaceutical_factory

(Though there’s also Wag-the-Dog theory for this as well as bombing of Iraq by Clinton.)

I, for one, will wait for some evidence before declaring that Obama is not for continuation of US military policies or will reduce the US military-industrial complex, before making such unfalsifiable claims. (I’ve heard such similar unfalsifiable claims about Gore too when there’s little-to-no evidence to make such claims.) But given that Obama is choosing many Clinton advisers to serve in his own cabinet, it doesn’t look like much is going to change.

There’s no reason to pull down those websites that run a count of innocent Iraqis killed because of US aggression.

Bush’s “Bad Cop” and Obama’s “Good Cop” shouldn’t cloud our judgment as well as make us blind to the reality that the cop still gets what he wants. It’s best to continue holding the good cop to high standards and expecting more of him, rather than being lulled into complacency that all will be wonderful with the world now that a Democrat is in the WH. To innocent Iraqis dying in Iraq, it doesn’t matter whether it is Bush in the WH or Obama. And it shouldn’t make a difference to us either – we should continue to be as outraged as we were before when Iraqis were being killed on Bush’s watch.

By: Ron Bailor. Spokane

Ron Bailor. Spokane — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:40:19 +0000

Tom,
I do not believe that Barack Obama was elected because he is black and it was not just young people who chose him.

I am a few months older than John McCain and am also a retired senior military officer with 34 years of service.

I voted for “President Elect” Barack Obama because he is better qualified in terms of Constitutional knowledge and making the most of life his experiences.
However, the primary factors, for me, were temperament and judgment.

In a a dangerous world we need a sharp, “cool head.” By the way, I am white.

By: Julia

Julia — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:32:43 +0000

Racism did not end when the North freed the slaves, Racism did not end when the North ended segregation, and Racism will not end with the North electing an African-American president. Racism in the South is the elephant in the living room that noone seems to be addressing today.
The largest black population is in the South. Many black voters may feel today, like I do, that their Alabama vote for Barack Obama did not count. Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, nor Tennessee will have any electoral votes for Barack Obama. You cannot convince me that racism was not a factor in many of the Southern votes for John McCain.

By: Delinda

Delinda — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:59:16 +0000

What a wonderful day this is! I cannot remember another like it and am sixty-six, Indeed America has a renewed bounce in its step and the wind at its back.

By: Eva Robertson

Eva Robertson — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:41:48 +0000

It is the same desperation that fueled my passion to see Obama president that is aroused in me when I hear comments suggesting that we elected him out of some kind of collective guilt for the racist sins of our past. We are not a nation that acts out of guilt. Those who oppose Obama know this when they argue that he will tax the suffering middle class and imperil our country by consorting with terrorists. This is talk that plays to the worst of American qualities — greed, ignorance, and bigotry. I am deeply proud of this country for saying with a united voice that it is ready to move beyond this kind of divisive politics and to start taking personal responsibility for the calamitous state we have brought to. We didn’t give Barack a sympathy vote. We said “Yes We Can.”

By: Maria

Maria — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:26:51 +0000

My 9 and 12 year old kids who have grown up in a diverse community and attend the Boston public schools, have been raised to believe that people are equal regardless of race (and gender and sexual orientation and on and on). So they often didn’t quite understand why the idea of voting for a black president might be difficult or impossible for some. But it also raised vexing questions of what is black? What is white? And who decides? I couldn’t resist pointing out to them that Barack’s mom and grandmother are white and that in fact many people that we identify as black are much more complicated than that. And that we who identify ourselves as white don’t likely know if we have non-european ancestors. I don’t mean to say that color or race is irrelevant. On the contrary, I find that this has been a fascinating opportunity to challenge myself and my kids to think about how easy it is to box people into a category.

Though I was Hillary supporter at the outset, after Obama’s speech on race I began to believe that he was uniquely qualified to lead us forward and help us address these questions as a nation. I am delighted at his win and hope that he can help us become less of a divided nation.

By: Amy

Amy — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:14:58 +0000

One more comment. I find it interesting that Obama/the press didn’t talk much about race during the election, but now that it is over we can’t stop talking about it. I understand why, but it’s just a note.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:11:18 +0000

Yes. This is a very interesting occurence. This might be a generational and perhaps regional thing though. I grew up in an area that is one of the most diverse in the country. Now I live overseas. People have been coming up to me congratulating me on my country’s elections. They find it very inspiring that what they thought of as a racist country has elected a brown-skinned person to its highest office.
I personally don’t care about people’s ‘race’. Growing up I have seen competent and incompetent people of all ‘colors’. People are people. I learned that growing up and have seen it more and more living in a foreign country.
I am happy to have a patently intelligent man as our president elect. I think he has a lot of good ideas and is a fantastic communicator. I definitely did not support him only because he is black. I voted for him because I like what he says and I believe he’s going to do a good job. I think it’s great that people are finding inspiration in the image though. In hard times people need all of that they can get.
I hope people like the caller Olivia will be able to handle a president with dark skin. I’m sure there are many people who believe Obama won ‘only because he’s black’ and can never accept the idea that a non-white person could actually be the most qualified too.
I so wish to, and let’s see if we can, pass the page on color prejudice and complexes of racial superiority and inferiority. What good does this do us? It’s a prison for the mind. Best wishes to all Americans, every one of us.

By: Heidi

Heidi — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:08:28 +0000

Before last night, I’d never cried during a president-elect’s acceptance speech. It is a relief that we will once again have a president who is intelligent, informed, thoughtful, and articulate. And it is a relief to have finally hopped over a racial hurdle.

By: Sandra Mongeon

Sandra Mongeon — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:05:42 +0000

I think that this is a tremendous win for our country. But I also think that we still we have huge issues with minorities.

Latinos in this country will be the majority in the near future. I live in a community where half of the population is Puerto Rican. I tend to believe that they, and Latinos in general, are the NEW black people.

Many folks feel that we have overcome many issues with African-Americans. Electing Obama to the presidency, is likely to have some folks saying…what else could THEY want? So the racism towards African-Americans will continue and likely become inflamed.

Couple that with the notion that Latinos are barely considered part of the equation in moving forward. I wouldn’t overlook the complex issues we have facing us when the Latino population takes the majority. The prejudice against them is rampant. Obama will have to consider their struggle ahead. I believe it will be quite ugly.