(no subject)
As a college educated, mainline Protestant, white, straight male, living in the South, with a salaried job and health insurance, this Obama victory is not for me. Honestly, a McCain victory may have benefited me more if I am just a collection of these identities.
This Obama victory is for the descendants of the enslaved people that my ancestors kept in bondage. This is for folks who are the children of immigrants. This is for people who have been on government assistance and used it as a hand up, instead of being caught in a cycle of dependence.
Yet it still comes back around full circle that this is for all of us who believe the United States and the American character is not tied to an ethnicity or class but is an ideal founded on principles laid out in our Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights. We actually are who we say we are. So yes, it is about me because I believe in America.
Voting for McCain or a third party candidate does not mean that someone doesn't believe in our common American values. That simple act is very special to our nation. We can point to Athenian democracy or Roman republicanism as bases for our government but their political processes also included much xenophobia, limited representation, and much bloodshed. We are exceptional in that we can disagree about who we want to lead our executive branch yet still, even if we don't vote for the eventual, be evidence of the truth that our system works. It says more about our nation that 46% DIDN'T vote for Obama than if we all had.
The fact that Obama doesn't look like our previous presidents, wasn't selected unanimously, but will still lead our nation tells all Americans, our allies, and our enemies something about who we are. Not all systems of government are equal. We're not perfect. But when half the world celebrates our election process and the other half watches in amazement and shock - that's a good thing.
Obama isn't a messiah and he's not the antichrist. He's a politician. Expect him to behave accordingly. But until we all get disappointed that he let you down or gratified when he finally shows what you considered all along to be his true colors, enjoy this moment in American democracy. We are an exceptional nation for having gone through a process that allowed for such a citizen to be elected president.
This Obama victory is for the descendants of the enslaved people that my ancestors kept in bondage. This is for folks who are the children of immigrants. This is for people who have been on government assistance and used it as a hand up, instead of being caught in a cycle of dependence.
Yet it still comes back around full circle that this is for all of us who believe the United States and the American character is not tied to an ethnicity or class but is an ideal founded on principles laid out in our Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights. We actually are who we say we are. So yes, it is about me because I believe in America.
Voting for McCain or a third party candidate does not mean that someone doesn't believe in our common American values. That simple act is very special to our nation. We can point to Athenian democracy or Roman republicanism as bases for our government but their political processes also included much xenophobia, limited representation, and much bloodshed. We are exceptional in that we can disagree about who we want to lead our executive branch yet still, even if we don't vote for the eventual, be evidence of the truth that our system works. It says more about our nation that 46% DIDN'T vote for Obama than if we all had.
The fact that Obama doesn't look like our previous presidents, wasn't selected unanimously, but will still lead our nation tells all Americans, our allies, and our enemies something about who we are. Not all systems of government are equal. We're not perfect. But when half the world celebrates our election process and the other half watches in amazement and shock - that's a good thing.
Obama isn't a messiah and he's not the antichrist. He's a politician. Expect him to behave accordingly. But until we all get disappointed that he let you down or gratified when he finally shows what you considered all along to be his true colors, enjoy this moment in American democracy. We are an exceptional nation for having gone through a process that allowed for such a citizen to be elected president.