Posted by Helen on: 11.05.2008 /
Everyone I’ve spoken to this morning lights up when I mention the election. It’s fun being around happy people. Yesterday everyone was smiling because of the weather: it’s unseasonably warm, with temperatures in the low 70s. It’s still warm today and now they’re thrilled that Obama won the election.
I suppose it’s probably different where people voted for McCain and the weather sucks, but it’s fun to be where I live today.
Comment by: no offense
1 11/5/08 11:53 AM | Comment Link |I voted for him, but I’m far from thrilled.
I rarely vote for anything but third party candidates, but they were even whackier than McCain and Obama.
If he actually manages to be the first politician in history to do what he said he’d do. Then I’ll be thrilled. But I am not holding my breath.
He comes across like a ‘new’ kind of politician, so well in fact, that only a politician could sell himself so successfully.
I’m waiting to see him work tirelessly to stop abortions, and bring accountability and responsibility to Americans (both CEO types and welfare types). I’m waiting to see him transcend party politics. I’m waiting to see him embrace the ‘moral dimension’ of political issues that most of his party mock. His rhetoric was (and remains) wonderful. We shall see if he is the man I dare to hope he might be, or just another politician.
Comment by: Peter Walker
2 11/5/08 12:25 PM | Comment Link |Well I voted for him, and I AM thrilled. THRILLED!
I was waiting to see America just BEGIN to take steps away from its immoral, racist and hateful past. And we have done that - we’ve started. There’s a long way to go. My wife and I wept, not just because we believe Barack Obama is a man of integrity, vision, and real intellect and ability. We wept out of shame, for the elite power and dominance white people (like us, comfortable and priviledged) - but particularly white males - have inflicted on both the 1st and 3rd worlds.
There is a lot of work to do, now. And Obama will not transform this world overnight. He cannot “save” this nation on his own. But he represents something bigger than himself, and I pray that something sticks with us. I pray it gives birth to transformation.
Call me “Michelle,” but for the first time in my brief 30 years, I am proud to be an American.
I wonder if that makes me a “Secret Muslim.” (I hope so)
Comment by: Craig
3 11/5/08 1:14 PM | Comment Link |I’m thrilled as well! Woohoo!
I am anxious and hopeful for what I believe Obama is capable of…instilling hope within the American people and motivating them to action. He demonstrated that he can motivate people to vote, now lets see him motivate action!
On the flip-side, I received a gloomy e-mail from an organization back in ohio that reported:
I’m glad McCain wasn’t as gloomy last night. And I wonder why they used Obama’s middle name?
Comment by: Elaine
4 11/5/08 1:25 PM | Comment Link |Hey - I live in Ohio - I didn’t get that email.
I did get about 40 robo-calls from the McCain party using scare tactics to try to intimidate me…but of course they don’t know I don’t tolerate intimidation well.
I think Obama has a huge job - more than any one man or woman can do alone. This means he needs ALL of us to step up and engage.
What are you willing to commit to without expectation of recognition or reward to help heal our country?
Comment by: Peter Walker
5 11/5/08 3:55 PM | Comment Link |Elaine - great point. Americans haven’t been asked to sacrifice much - at least not in my lifetime. “Sacrifice” doesn’t poll well with focus groups. But it’s going to take, time, sweat and blood, and yes even money (through, God-help-us, taxes) to turn this ship.
Comment by: no offense
6 11/5/08 7:14 PM | Comment Link |No offense but, Peter, it really isn’t a moral failure to be white.
Comment by: Peter Walker
7 11/5/08 7:57 PM | Comment Link |Being white isn’t a moral failure. Being white and careless is. Being proud of being white is. Being white and making excuses for it (no offense) is.
Comment by: David H
8 11/5/08 10:45 PM | Comment Link |Years ago I worked for a daily newspaper with an executive editor who was insane. I don’t mean Crazy Eddie IN-SANE, I mean he need to be in a padded room on daily medication. He tortured and abused everyone at the newspaper until he assaulted a US Congressman during an endorsement interview at the newspaper. The congressman had come out of the closet that year. During the interview, already fractious because of the congressman was a Democrat as well as gay, the editor dove across a board-room table and grabbed the representative by his lapels. He was shaking him when two reporters pulled him off. The editor then grabbed a hot cup of coffee and threw it on the congressman.
Of course the editor was quietly asked to leave the newspaper. We, his beaten down former employees, looked with great hope to the appointment of a new editor who was coming to us from a very reputable newspaper with an excellent personal resume. Some people actually celebrated. Ding-dong the witch was dead. How could things get any worse?
They did. Those who were happiest at the prospect of change were those who became most angry and bitter at the result.
What’s the moral? Change can be for better or for worse. Investing too much in the prospect for change can lead to great disappointment.
I understand the importance of this election. It isn’t just the end of Dubya’s policies, it is an event that could signal dramatic change in how minorities in this country are seen by others and how they see themselves. I could help but be moved by the reactions to his nomination and election by Hispanic, Asian and African-American people I know.
However, Barack Obama may still be just a politician. It remains to be seen if he can rise above that. I hope he can.
Comment by: gecko
9 11/6/08 5:32 AM | Comment Link |I didn’t even have an opinion, because here in Switzerland the press was very much pro Obama, almost painfully so. But I’m very it glad theat the result is so clear. I think it would have much more difficult if it had been like four years ago. I really do wish the very best for your nation.
Comment by: Helen
10 11/6/08 7:15 AM | Comment Link |Thanks everyone for your comments.
Like some of you have said, we don’t know yet whether Obama will live up to his promises.
Whether he does or not I am still very happy he was elected President because I think he will be a better President than McCain. Also I’m delighted that we did elect an African-American. There was a time African-Americans couldn’t vote at all, and then they only had the option of voting for a white President. I’m very happy it was finally the other way around, with white people voting for an African-American.
Elaine I expect Craig can help you get on that mailing list if you want to be on it :)
Comment by: Elaine
11 11/6/08 9:54 AM | Comment Link |David - I agree with you - change in of itself is not necessarily a good thing.
Having said that I think it is not so much about change as it is an acknowlegement of our new reality. The USA is no longer Euro-America. The population has been shifting for a while. It has finally reached enough mass to make itself felt.
Obama more accurately mirrors the new face of America (and my grandson) as it is today. (BTW I was initially for Hillary - because I wanted to see a qualified woman in the office.)
I think the silent majority came together and has spoken - finally. They have used their voices and were heard this time.
This is not my father’s America - it is his great-grandchildren’s America.
Here is my blog in more detail about my concern and excitement about the possibilities in this change
Additionallly, no matter who was elected - trying to right this Ship of State is going to take ALL of us - electing Obama was a first step.
And to quote a famous patriot -
There’s no turning back.
Comment by: gecko
12 11/6/08 11:46 AM | Comment Link |Can anybody tell me why Barack Obama is referred to as black? As I understood he is as much white as black, because his mother is white? To me it sounded a good compromise to have somebody who is half/half.
Comment by: Elaine
13 11/6/08 12:36 PM | Comment Link |Gecko - in the USA, at one time if you had 1/8 or more African blood - you were labeled black.
When I grew up, it seems the color of your skin dictated whether you were called black or not. I think this is still true today.
(there are those of mixed ethnicities who are fair skinned and “pass” as white - just to give you a sense of the racism in this country.)
My grandson is English, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Italian, French Canadian, German, American Indian, and African…with his skin tone and hair - he is probably classified as African-American - black.
It is a denial of more than half of his ancestory. This is true for most people that are classified as African-American/Black.
I was told more than 30 years ago - that less than 2% of African-Americans are 100% African. And yet, we continue to deny reality.
We continue to view African American as a race - instead of the ethnicity it is.
I hope in my grandson’s life time, we stop labeling each other by the color of our skin as if it is reflection of who he is.
Comment by: Peter Walker
14 11/6/08 1:53 PM | Comment Link |I think the embrace of “blackness,” even when ethnicities are mixed, is a direct result of the 1/8th mentality of oppressive, racist America. When something has been belittled and shamed, re-claiming it is a source of strength, pride, and defiance. It is why some blacks in America began using the ‘N’ word - whatever you think of its use now, it wasn’t used by blacks to keep blacks down - it was used in defiance.
The gay community uses “queer” now, in a similar way.
Comment by: no offense
15 11/6/08 4:36 PM | Comment Link |Come on now Peter, where’s the racial sensibilities, shouldn’t you be chiding the ‘black priders’ along with the ‘white priders?’
Comment by: Elaine
16 11/6/08 5:52 PM | Comment Link |Someone told me a long time ago, that where integration and affirmative action fail - love will conquer. And I think it has. It is now difficult to tell by someone’s name or complexion what their ethnicity/race is. You can no longer just look at someone and say - oh, they are Asian or African-American or Irish or…
Comment by: Peter Walker
17 11/6/08 7:04 PM | Comment Link |No Offense,
I feel the counterbalance you’re coming with, but I don’t agree - you might just be kidding me here though… ;)
The powerful cannot ask the oppressed to play by the same rules. There IS reason to be proud of blackness, especially if one has lived in a family with a long US history that includes oppression, slavery and injustice. Pride is for enduring, retaining dignity and humanity in the face of genuine evil. My whiteness has offered me nothing but the easy options of complacency and comfort.
Thanks for the pushback though, I suppose I could be wrong…
Comment by: Bill Lee
18 11/7/08 9:48 AM | Comment Link |Viewing the situation from the UK, it will be very refreshing that the future president of the USA will be someone who can express himself articulately. I have heard supporters of President Bush claim that he has a sharper mind than people realise. Where is the evidence? In October 2005 he nominated Harriet Miers, a White House lawyer who had never been a judge, to the Supreme Court. He explained, “I think it’s important to bring somebody from outside the system, the judicial system, somebody that hasn’t been on the bench and, therefore, there’s not a lot of opinions for people to look at.” Most commentators suggested that the reason that she stepped aside was because even conservatives mounted surprisingly virulent opposition. Bush said, “I picked the best person I could find.” On October 4th 2004, President Bush exhibited his mental acuity during the presidential debate when he said, “The truth of the matter is, if you listen carefully, Saddam would still be in power if he were the president of the United States, and we’d be a lot better off.” Most people over here think that President Bush is a joke but unfortunately it’s been no laughing matter.
Comment by: gecko
19 11/7/08 12:28 PM | Comment Link |Labellig people is just a sad thing, because so much potential is being lost. From this point of view I’m glad Obama made it! And still, being completely honest, I’m labelling people, too. Probably because it’s costing less strength and I have to reflect myself less. For instance, from my long experience as a teacher (I have been teaching since 1991) I can say that there were less problems with dark colored people than there were with folks with a different religion in their background. And in addition to this, the more radical, the worse it was.
Comment by: Elaine
20 11/9/08 11:12 AM | Comment Link |Labeling in and of itself is not bad. It is how our brain sorts things. The problem comes in when we accept what others and/or the media tells us to think/believe instead of thinking for ourselves.
(Language is a huge contributor - black is bad/evil - white is good/angelic)
As a child, when I learned that Jesus died for us ALL…that we are all equal in God’s eyes - I found myself in conflict with my faher’s racist views. As a child I did not know how to deal with this incongruence - BUT I noticed it and watched for an exception to my father’s views that would support what God said. I found lots of exceptions to what my father said. It also resulted in my challenging my father about his believe in myths. We had some great discussions once I was old enough to disagree with him.
Not everyone does that.
Race is a man made construct. We are ONE race with many ethnicities.
Comment by: gecko
21 11/11/08 9:24 AM | Comment Link |Hi Elaine, I think it is exactly how you say. In my experience every people, land, color, minority, majority has its good and bad ones, more and less intelligent ones, givers and takers, … But I DO think it makes a difference how fundamentalistic a person is. I think the more fundamentalistic, the less folks are able to handle others ore even to think themselves. And it doesn’t make a difference what religion it is.
Or is it just so, that the more fundamentalistic someone gets, the less self-assure they get? Is “heavy evangelisation” a sign of low self-esteem? I just don’t know. But I just asked myself such questions because of some things we experienced in our church.
Comment by: Kristina
22 11/14/08 9:09 PM | Comment Link |Hi, I just want to say that it’s nice to read that people are happy with the presidential election! Yay! :) (Alas, a lot of people in my church think the end of the world has come, but I just patiently remind them that God is in control and both McCain & Obama are Christians–though I don’t think they believe me on that point–interestingly enough, my ulta-Republican friends tell me they really voted for McCain because of Palin, but I digress). Anyway, I just wanted to say that it’s nice to read about people happy about the outcome! :) Thank you! :)
Comment by: Helen
23 11/15/08 7:09 AM | Comment Link |Thanks Kristina. I’m glad you’re reminding people at your church that the end of the world has not come and God is still in control.
I’ve also read about people voting for McCain because of Palin.
gecko wrote:
I think that insecure people are attracted to guarantees and black and white doctrine, because those provide security. That doesn’t mean all people with black and white doctrine are insecure, though. Some people just like things to be clear cut because they’re analytical and that appeals to them.
(And if things are black and white then it’s better to face up to that than deny it whether you’re secure or insecure or analytical or not…but the if is important…)
Comment by: gecko
24 11/15/08 11:43 AM | Comment Link |I didn’t mean that I don’t understand black-and-white-mentality. I do have some opinions about good and bad, too. The question was more how people react to other people handling things differently. I thought that maybe insecureness shows in “heavy evangelisation” because some people need the proof of consent which is (to them) that everybody does the same likewise. And if you don’t get converted to their ways, they get agressive or drop you.