I was rushing around yesterday morning... looking for shoes... trying to find where my makeup was (I could not remember which bag I took out of town with me!)... and just generally having a typical Monday morning...
I always, always, always turn the news on when I wake up in the morning so with GMA blasting in the background and chaos surrounding me you'd think it was nothing short of a miracle for me to hear anything actually being said on the television... and yet, I did.
I'm not a big fan of people making the next era of our nation all about the civil rights movement. I'm just not. And since this is my blog I get to have my own opinion about it without explaining why... but I will. It's not that I'm racists (I'm a regular ol' Heinz 57 when it comes to my heritage). It's just that I think too many people become tunnel visioned and focused on only that aspect of the campaign when the truth be told, if there had been a candidate worthy of the people's vote and support in the last twenty years who happened to also have been of a different ethnicity than Caucasian then chances are highly likely that that individual would have been voted in as well. But there hasn't been a candidate who meets the needs and qualifications of being the President of the United States of America. Hell, the election we just had didn't even have a candidate who met my needs and requirements for being elected as the next highest elected official of my Country, but that's the beauty of my Country... he clearly met the requirements of others and as such I have to abide by the vote of the majority and support his position. I shouldn't be expected to support him because his skin is a different color... but because he was chosen by the people and in their minds eye he was the best qualified. The color of his skin should not HAVE BEEN or CONTINUE TO BE the key reports and subject of his inauguration and term. What he will be able to do for ALL Americans should be the issue at hand.
Anyway, that's one heck of a tangent to get to the quote I heard earlier yesterday...
Robin Roberts reported that she had heard (but she didn't credit who to) the following:
"Rosa sat so that Martin could walk. Martin walked so that Obama could run. Obama ran so that our children can fly."
Let's hope that this rings true for all ethnicities throughout his term.
4 comments:
I have to agree with your tirade. I understand, to a certain point, the hype behind the "first" of it all. But really, can we acknowledge the fact that yes, he is the first MIXED RACE president and move on with the issues that concern us ALL!
Tara - Thanks for your comment on my blog. I've been a silent reader of your blog for a while now, since last summer when I saw on our class website what happened to Jim. I should have told you sooner but I am so sorry for your loss and for what you are going through and will continue to go through for a long time...I don't even know what to say, just that I'm so sorry and I hope that justice is served. If not in this life, it will be in a life to come, don't give up hope, you will see Jim again. Take care of yourself.
Traci - THANKS! I really have to think that if the media and the majority of our society can't get past that to the issues that concern us all... well then, we really haven't made it the point in the civil rights movement that they feel we have. Acknowledge it... and move on.
Kami - Thank you. I believe that it will be served... and sooner than we all could possibly imagine. We truly have been very lucky in the sense that many people have to wait for years before there are even arrests made. Thanks for your thoughts - they are felt in more ways than you could imagine.
It's interesting to observe as MLK's dream is supposedly being "fulfilled" in an election year where if "Kermit the Frog, Democrat" was on the ballot that's who the majority of Americans would have voted for just to have "change."
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