Here we are two weeks after the most historic election in the history of the United States of America , and I am just now getting around to writing about it. In fact, I am primarily writing to stay current with events. The reason for delaying this installment is that so much is being printed on the election that I did not want to be redundant by restating the obvious. Nevertheless, the election of a black man to the highest office in the land warrants an opinion statement from all thinking people.
Probably the most common question people are asking themselves is "What will it mean?" The answer I have settled on is that it means whatever we will attribute to it. So many of us are justifiably proud that I will not begin to diminish the significance of this election with a sobering reflection of the race relations among ordinary everyday people, or the many known and unknown committees, commissions, groups, agencies and councils that manage and inform the direction of the presidency -- irrespective of statements made for public consumption. A black man of an African father and white mother is now the commander and chief of this country, and he lives in the Whitehouse. A place built by African laborers and, for a long time since, denied access to any Blacks other than as its servants.
Let me continue, then, with a litanty of the obvious and hoped-for meanings of President-elect Obama's magnificent achievement. Barack Obama's successful elections means that the presidency is not the exclusive province of white people. It means that he and his campaign team ran a masterful campaign in order to overcome such tremendous odds. It signals that the majority of the (voting) white people are open to change. That they can look past a man's race and evaluate him on more than such superficial criteria. It signals that Black people recognized that for the first time they had a candidate that was of the highest caliber, and they were not ashamed to rally around their race identity in order to make a statment of pride -- anymore than white Irish-Catholics did for John F. Kennedy. Barack Obama's election victory means that American people are more optimistic than cynical about their future. And, perhaps, that they know when they hear an authentic and trustworthy voice.
Ultimately, Mr. Obama's presidency will be judge by more than all the early symbolism that it presents today. However, symbolism is enduring and it can be managed for the long term betterment of a people. For at least the next four years the world, and more importantly for me, black children, will have a towering symbol to point to that will eclipse the once useful, but long since obsolete, examples of strident, often angry, protest politics. In the symbol of Mr. Obama, black children cannot help but recognize that a thoughtful, articulate, accomplished family man is not only a fine example, but one that looks like they do. A man with a family and background like their own who proved that, through a milder thoughtful temperment, an unyeilding intellect, and persistence of character, he could win out against his rivals...And do it with class.
For me, I am hopeful that President-elect Obama's tenure will be a game changer on the international stage, as well as at home. I am hoping for no more bombing of people and countries in pursuit of their natural resources which they refuse to fork over under the guise of some treaty. No more secret operations against heads state simply because they do a little sabre-rattling. I am hopeful for direct aid to long suffering African countries that will allow them to become dignified players in the global economy and aid their people. I am hopeful for an Obama presidency that will greatly improve relations with Cuba in the way we have with Viet Nam. A presidency that shows how diplomacy is not an act of weakness for our country, but of strength and confidence in or power...And that is just for starters!
Yes, there is much to hope for in a Barack Obama presidency. However, this is the man who taught the nation of the 'audacity of hope.'
