By
John Orlando
Disclaimer: As I have indicated in other posts, for various reasons I am not a Barack Obama supporter. However, I certainly try to offer analysis of candidates as fairly as possible, and that is my goal here.
The spectacle itself was amazing. The speech was held at Denver's Invesco Field, and the last I heard there were over 80,000 people in attendance! 80,000! To hear a politician give a speech! Of course, Barack Obama is not the usual politician giving the usual speech. This is a politician like no other in our history in that he is the first Black man in our country to receive the nomination for President of the United States of his Party (the Democratic Party).
The event, and the speech, were not like any other political event or speech in our country's history for precisely those reasons. We who abhor racism, and especially those that may be intimately familiar with the plight of African Americans in this country since this country's inception (and even prior to that), can with one unified voice stand up and proudly say: FINALLY!!!
Much has been said about the 18 million cracks that were put into the glass ceiling of discrimination against women. To be sure, women have had a difficult path in this country, and even today they still have to fight to get equal pay for equal work which is a complete travesty of justice. There is indeed at times a palpable hostility toward women of power (especially Black women!), and as evidenced in both Hillary Clinton's and Sarah Palin's cases, there is a real sexism that exists, especially among those, ironically enough, in the liberal media. All of the probing, the line and tone of questioning, and just the sheer hostility and little digs, barbs, and wisecracks were and are both shocking and disgraceful. There is a clear double-standard between a male candidate and a female candidate which the campaigns of Hillary and Sarah have clearly demonstrated, and I for one am praying that the glass ceiling is indeed finally smashed to smithereens, not only for women running for political office, but in other secular career paths.
As high and as hard that glass ceiling is though, I personally believe that the highest and hardest glass ceiling of all is not discrimination against women; it has been and is the racism that exists against all minorities, but especially African Americans. No other group in this country has endured more discrimination, both overt and covert, and no other group of people has suffered more or overcome more obstacles than the African American. Period. I have said to friends and family on more than one occasion that it is truly miraculous to see how far African Americans have come in the short span of 140 years since slavery, and in the even shorter span of the mere 44 years since the signing of the Civil Rights Bill.
When one considers just how high and hard that glass ceiling was and is for African Americans, it absolutely defies logic that African Americans would be as successful as they are in this day and age. Though "free," the government (local, state, and federal), the system, and the populace was for the most part stacked against them, and militantly so in many cases. Yet, we can look at the many successes of African Americans going all the way back to the days of slavery—great Americans who refused to quit and refused to be broken; great Americans who stood up and fought for a country that despised them and denied them their humanity, dignity, and rights—great Americans who made a way out of no way and forged ahead to make a better life for themselves with a bedrock faith in the sovereign God of the universe, knowing that just as His eye is indeed on the sparrow, so His eye is on them despite the circumstances.
With apologies to other Black politicians who have run for President such as Jesse Jackson, Alan Keyes, and Al Sharpton, though no one would say it when they ran, the reality was that none of those candidates, ideology aside, didn't have a snowballs chance in the Mojave desert of winning, and the real reason—the sole reason—was because they were Black. Not only was America not ready for a Black President, it couldn't even conceive of one. The only possible exception may have been Colin Powell had he chosen to run. Obama and Powell are cut out of a similar mold in that they have the ability to transcend race.
Again though, I do not believe the country could even conceive of a Black President. It could though perfectly conceive of a White woman becoming President. After all, the world's stage has seen other women who ascended to the highest offices in their country, such as Margaret Thatcher in England, and in our own country, Geraldine Ferraro, who made history in her own right and was selected as the Vice Presidential candidate to run with Walter Mondale in 1984. Also, let's not forget this election cycle with Hillary candidacy. The candidacy itself was really no surprise, and going all the back the her days as First Lady, we could all conceive and knew that she would one day run for President. There's no doubt in my mind that she would have been the nominee had it not been for the meteoric (and historic) rise of Barack Obama.
Here are some more things to consider in terms of just how historic, unlikely, and amazing Barack Obama's candidacy is. Here is a man who, if he had been born a mere 146 years earlier would have been born into slavery (despite having a White parent). Here is a man who would have been forced to sit at the back of the bus and would not have been permitted to drink at "White Only" water fountains or use "White Only" restrooms a mere 50 years or so ago, and here is a man who would almost certainly never even be in the position he is in were it not for the landmark Civil Rights Bill of 1964 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964 (a mere 44 years ago).
The fact of the matter is that Barack Obama's candidacy, whether you agree or disagree with his politics and policies, was and is much needed in our country. While it in no way signals the end to racism, whether personal or systemic, it nevertheless says that our country, despite the naysayers, has made tremendous progress on the issue of race.
So there Barack Obama was, standing before a throng of 80,000 exuberant and enthusiastic supporters—Black, White, Red, Brown, Yellow; male and female, young and old—there he was making history and delivering the speech of his life. The speech though was not only the speech of his life, where all of his hopes and dreams could either be realized or dashed depending on how it went. Though there have been many successes, both individual and corporate as people, Barack Obama rightly or wrongly has become the clearest symbol and incarnation of the success of the Civil Rights era. Every African American, whether they agree with Mr. Obama's politics or not, had a stake in his speech, because in a real sense he was representing all African Americans because for really the first time in our history African Americans could really believe that they could become anything they wanted to…even President of the United States of America. The words, "We Shall Overcome!" could be replaced, in a significant way at least, with the words, "We HAVE Overcome!" Make no mistake though; Barack Obama's candidacy has not and will not erase the pain of the past. There will always be scars. But his candidacy has been a welcome and soothing ointment that has helped bringing significant healing to the scar.
As for the speech itself, it was typical Obama in that while I disagreed with much of what he said, I was impressed with his delivery, charm, and eloquence. I felt that the speech fell a little more flat than usual (this may be because it was purposely devoid of the poetic flare that marks most of his speeches), but objectively speaking, he accomplished precisely what he wanted to accomplish with the speech (which was to outline more policy), and I for one am proud as an American that he had the chance to give it. After all, it was history in the making—for the first time in our nation's history, a Black man accepted the nomination for President of the United States of a major political Party. I won't be voting for Senator Obama for various reasons (you can read elsewhere in the blog), but I want to congratulate the Senator from Illinois, and thank him and his family for having the courage to run for the highest office in the land.
Here are some more things to consider in terms of just how historic, unlikely, and amazing Barack Obama's candidacy is. Here is a man who, if he had been born a mere 146 years earlier would have been born into slavery (despite having a White parent). Here is a man who would have been forced to sit at the back of the bus and would not have been permitted to drink at "White Only" water fountains or use "White Only" restrooms a mere 50 years or so ago, and here is a man who would almost certainly never even be in the position he is in were it not for the landmark Civil Rights Bill of 1964 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964 (a mere 44 years ago).
The fact of the matter is that Barack Obama's candidacy, whether you agree or disagree with his politics and policies, was and is much needed in our country. While it in no way signals the end to racism, whether personal or systemic, it nevertheless says that our country, despite the naysayers, has made tremendous progress on the issue of race.
So there Barack Obama was, standing before a throng of 80,000 exuberant and enthusiastic supporters—Black, White, Red, Brown, Yellow; male and female, young and old—there he was making history and delivering the speech of his life. The speech though was not only the speech of his life, where all of his hopes and dreams could either be realized or dashed depending on how it went. Though there have been many successes, both individual and corporate as people, Barack Obama rightly or wrongly has become the clearest symbol and incarnation of the success of the Civil Rights era. Every African American, whether they agree with Mr. Obama's politics or not, had a stake in his speech, because in a real sense he was representing all African Americans because for really the first time in our history African Americans could really believe that they could become anything they wanted to…even President of the United States of America. The words, "We Shall Overcome!" could be replaced, in a significant way at least, with the words, "We HAVE Overcome!" Make no mistake though; Barack Obama's candidacy has not and will not erase the pain of the past. There will always be scars. But his candidacy has been a welcome and soothing ointment that has helped bringing significant healing to the scar.
As for the speech itself, it was typical Obama in that while I disagreed with much of what he said, I was impressed with his delivery, charm, and eloquence. I felt that the speech fell a little more flat than usual (this may be because it was purposely devoid of the poetic flare that marks most of his speeches), but objectively speaking, he accomplished precisely what he wanted to accomplish with the speech (which was to outline more policy), and I for one am proud as an American that he had the chance to give it. After all, it was history in the making—for the first time in our nation's history, a Black man accepted the nomination for President of the United States of a major political Party. I won't be voting for Senator Obama for various reasons (you can read elsewhere in the blog), but I want to congratulate the Senator from Illinois, and thank him and his family for having the courage to run for the highest office in the land.
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