How Far Have We Really Come?

I realize that this is but one of 10 trillion articles written concerning the coming to power of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama. However I hope this piece will shed a bit of a different light upon this truly historic occasion.

It has been said by many that the fact an “African-american” was elected and inaugurated as president signals the virtual end of racism in America. My response to this assertion is…not so fast. I don’t say this to throw cold water on all the enthusiasm about this event. It is indeed a remarkable step that has been taken, one that could scarcely have been imagined just 3 or 4 decades ago. But we need to take care lest the euphoria of Obamania blind us to the danger of another type of racist thinking, the kind which would excuse behavior we would otherwise condemn.

The reaction of the media, and even erstwhile opponents in Congress, to this new, historic event suggests that POTUS Obama will have a extraordinarily long ‘honeymoon period’ in his new job. It suggests further that his actual job performance will be above criticism if the MSM (main stream media) has anything to say about it. Perhaps even worse is that criticism against his policies may be viewed as wrong and even racist themselves. In other words, perhaps simply because he is African-American, POTUS Obama will be able to do more with impunity than any other president before. After all, if anything he proposes turns out to be a colossal mistake, do we dare blame it on him? If we do, do we not risk the label of racist as a result? In fact, it would not be terribly surprising if I risk the label of racist even now for simply bringing up this possibility.

My contention is that we risk having a president who will be allowed to operate as if he was elected as a sort of affirmative action project and that would be truly a tragic turn for us as a nation and a culture. The question we need to ask ourselves is whether or not POTUS Obama was elected because he was the best candidate, or because he is African-American. Is it racist to suggest that perhaps our nation’s collective conscience was so eager to be rid of the guilt of past racism we were eager to elect this man? There are many who would believe this, but in truth it is not so. There are many who would say that I am racist to suggest that this man was elected because it was a way to erase guilt and make America seem less racist. They would say I am trying to plant a seed of doubt here in order to cast a shadow on a great achievement. None of that is true. In fact, my motive is to take a hard look at how we view this achievement, and that we strive to view our new POTUS as no more or less than any other man ever elected to this most austere office. In fact, the only real way to view this achievement with no racist tinge at all is to view it without considering President Obama’s race at all!

This will not be nearly as easy as it might sound because there are so many people and organizations invested in keeping racism alive and well in America. These people and organizations are not interested in achieving a ‘color-blind’ society (i.e. the real dream of Martin Luther King Jr.). They are instead interested in achieving racial superiority and making money doing it! Therefore, it is imperative (to them) that POTUS Obama succeed no matter what he proposes and no matter what the results. It is even more imperative (to them) that he be seen as a great, not just a good, president, simply because he is the first African-American president. Folks, if that is allowed to happen, we will be stepping back in stead of forward, toward the elimination of racism in our land.

I’m revdto and I’m just sayin’