Obama: Not a Rock Star

The other day, as I was excitedly anticipating today, a good friend of mine remarked that he didn’t understand all of the excitement. His exact words in regards to Obama were, “He’s not a Rock Star!”

I have pondered that sentiment as I watched the festivities on January 20th and I have to agree. Our new President is not a rock star. In my years working in radio and TV, I met several rock stars, TV stars and even a movie star or two. They were all just people, some better than others, just like us. Some I admired and admire to this day for the things they have accomplished, for their crafts, sometimes for their words and even deeds. Never the less, they were all in the entertainment business. They were not out to directly change the world or at least to help guide it in a new direction. And so, yes, I concede. Today is not about celebrating a star.

Today is about celebrating the culmination of an idea of hope that began over a hundred years ago on the battle fields of our great nation.

It is about honoring those who died to truly make the words of our founding fathers ring true.

It is about remembering my stepfather’s ten uncles who died in concentration camps in Germany because they were Jewish, the millions killed in Rawanda for being of the wrong tribe, the girls in Afganistan stoned to death for showing an ankle.

It is about my mother who was told in the sixties to go home and be a housewife after she applied for a much needed job.

It is about my Black friend Marcus who was pulled over in Buckhead, GA after buying his new car and asked who he stole the car from.

It is about my Iranian friend in highschool who was beaten up after the hostage takeover in Iran because he too was of Iranian decent.

It is about my Pakistani friends who were beaten up in 2001 after 9/11 because they “looked like Terrorists.”

Today is about remembering my Japanese neighbors in Minnesota who told me stories of their internment in our own camps just for being Japanese in the ’40s, second generation no less.

It is about remembering the day I was turned down from my first job out of college and told “you are a young and pretty woman who will most likely get married and have kids soon, so we just can’t invest in you.” Or later, getting fired from another job because I wouldn’t sleep with my boss after he gave me a raise.

Today is a celebration of the many who starved themselves in the turn of last century so that a woman could vote and later, for the many who marched, and in some cases, sacrificed their lives, so that those of a different color could have those very rights.

Today is about remembering all of those who have suffered for the color of their skin, their ethnic heritage, their educational status, their religious beliefs, or non beliefs, their sex, their sexual orientation, or for just being different from the norm. Today is a celebration of that diversity and a belief that we can all overcome whatever obstacles are placed in our way because under our skin we are all one species who fervently desire the same dignities and respect. President Obama represents that beacon of hope for me and for many who have personally suffered from discrimination.

And yes, President Obama is just a man. But this is a man who has inspired me through his words, through his calm nature, through his poise and his education, and yes, through the color of his skin. And no, he is not a rock star. He is a man who is willing to take on the burden of hard work and turmoil to help steer this vessel before it hits the iceburg. I have met many rock stars, but none deserve the respect and admiration that I have for this man, both for who he is and what he represents to me.