I’m Not The Only One

Never in my lifetime did I imagine I’d ever see a U.S. President of color.  Though I voted for Barack, my sense of cynicism kept whispering to me that the powers that be would never allow such a thing to happen.  I reminded myself constantly of the fiasco of the 2000 Presidential election and braced myself for a repeat in this election, but was shocked to see that Obama was far in the lead in both electoral and popular votes.

In this multiracial, multicultural nation which treats its minorities better than any other nation I could think of (and the Obama Presidency is proof!), I cannot think of a better representative for the United States than this biracial son of a white American woman and a Kenyan man.  It does annoy me a bit when Obama is referred to in the media as “African-American” because I do agree with Debra J. Dickerson’s claim that Barack Obama is not African-American or black.  As a person of mixed race myself, I look up to Obama, who is by no means the stereotypical “tragic mulatto” but rather an American who rarely considers himself anything beyond that. His genetic makeup alone is an inspiration for Americans to acknowledge our nation’s original motto, “E Pluribus Unum” (Latin for “Out of Many, One) and put our differences aside as we pick up the pieces of our divided nation shattered by partisan squabbling.

Obama’s election is amazing when you consider that 100 years ago, people of color were barely allowed to vote, much less run for office.  The Founding Fathers, despite their wisdom and vision to create a free nation for themselves, foolishly and hypocritically owned black people just as one would own a pair of shoes and regarded blacks as being only “five-eighths of a man”.  The Civil Rights Movement just made a giant leap forward.

Am I the only one who thinks John McCain told The View’s Elisabeth Hasselbeck to change her tone and show support for the next President?  She bashed Obama and praised McCain up till November 4.

Obama should graciously thank George W. Bush for his triumphant election, for had it not been Dubya’s numerous screw-ups, America may not have been so desperate for such a radical change. As Chris Rock suggested, Bush messed up so badly he made it hard for a white man to run for President.  Our current President has screwed up so badly these last eight years, it makes me wonder if America will ever elect a white male to the White House ever again.

The monumental election of Barack Hussein Obama is so great, it was almost worth eight years of George W. Bush.  Though I’ve expressed my support for him through this blog, I never purchased any Obama t-shirt, button or other paraphernalia bearing his name or likeness, nor did I volunteer for his campaign or donate one dollar to his cause.  I didn’t realize how emotionally invested I was in his being elected until I saw CNN project him as the winner and tears instantly filled my eyes as I watched in absolute disbelief.  I was so sure there would be some sort of monkey business that would put Obama’s status as President-elect in dispute, but nothing.  A day later I still couldn’t believe this country has elected a person of color to the highest position of power in the most powerful country in the world.

I currently work from 6:30 to 9:30 am handing out free newspapers at a subway station in Brooklyn while I look for more substantial employment in this struggling economy.  Yesterday was a day I’ll never forget.  Everyone in the streets was happy, deliriously happy.  Everyone was hugging each other, high-fiving each other, shouting “we did it!” and “Obama!” across the street.  You would’ve thought marijuana had been legalized and every New Yorker was sailing on a euphoric wave of joy.  Considering how indifferent and unfriendly New Yorkers can be, November 5, 2008 was definitely a strange day.  I greeted everyone wearing an Obama pin or shirt by saying “Happy Birthday!” and everyone knew exactly what I meant.

The newspaper I gave out on Wednesday had President-elect Obama’s face on it, and everyone wanted a copy.  In New York, every newsstand, bodega and deli was completely sold out of their newspapers, all of which bore Obama’s face on the front page.  I gave out 600 newspapers in two hours; my arms were throbbing because I couldn’t hand out the papers fast enough.  It was a great day for the newspaper business, an industry in this country which really deserved at least one good day for a change.

One New Yorker wasn’t as happy as the rest that day.  A red-haired white man angrily slapped a paper out of my hand as I offered it to him.  My first reaction was to curse him out, but then I realized why he would be so angry on a day when so many were overjoyed: McCain supporter.  I said nothing and left the jerk alone as he disappeared into the subway entrance; I figured he’s had a really bad day.

I’ll end this post with the closing words from my Barack Obama research paper in which I examine how the President-elect challenges the ideal of what a U.S. President should be.

            The Presidential candidacy of Barack Hussein Obama is typical and reflective of the United States, particularly of the wills and notions of the people who founded this nation and of the people who have called it home.  The U.S. was created as a challenge to the ideal of how citizens should live, of who and to what they should pledge their allegiance.  Over and over, through the abolition of slavery, through the women’s suffrage movement, and through the fortitude of millions to strive for equal rights for all, Americans have relentlessly proved themselves to be able to challenge, if not overcome, various contemporary ideals.  And as this nation reaches the dawn of the first decade of the 21st Century, it should be of little surprise that yet another ideal is once again to be challenged in so many ways.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 7th, 2008 at 2:59 am and is filed under Voting, Barack Obama, History, Civil Rights, 2008 Presidential Race, Race & Ethnicity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.