Chance
Posted: June 5th, 2008, 3:55 pm
Tuesday was a tremendously proud moment for me... a moment that, even given the climate of change and progression in American society, I was still skeptical of ever encountering so soon in my lifetime. Barack Obama, a black man with a small Illinois-based political career is the Democratic Nominee. He has a real shot at becoming the first black president of the United States of America and I'm going to have to quote Michelle Obama by saying that this is the first time in my adult life that I have been truly proud of my country. The statement that something like this makes for us as a people... the ability to have overcome so many obstacles to finally get to a point where this could be possible is so amazing to me. As the Senator got up to speak in Minnesota, announcing proudly this great stride that he had taken in American history, I was overcome with a sense of pride such that I have never felt for any politician in my life, and I have been paying close attention to politics since I was 10 years old. I remember sitting on the couch watching CNN and MSNBC with my grandfather, and listening to his subversive comments on the state of the world and being so in awe of his straightforwardness. Being so in awe of a man who could come to love his country even in the face of having been persecuted and threatened and spending the majority of his youth in Mississippi being terrorized for a physical feature he had nothing to do with... his skin tone. And it isn't even just about race... it's about the fact that a man from such humble political beginnings, community organizer, freshman Senator, could reach this level or prominence. And being a native of the area that has benefited greatly from his perseverance and dedication to improvement and change, the pride is truly immense. I know that we have a few Hillary supporters here. When I put up the original post a year ago about Obama announcing his candidacy... a lot of you told me that he wasn't ready... his experience in politics was not great enough, but if you had lived in this area, seen the kind of positive change he has already put forth here, seen the effort and the dynamic, I find it hard to believe that you wouldn't all agree with me that the right canidate was chosen. And forgive me... but I just must gloat for a moment to the people who told me that Senator Barack Obama needed to buckle down and prepare for the number 2 spot on the ticket, when it is now Senator Clinton who must consider just that.
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