1/20/09- a step backward
I did not watch a single minute of the inauguration, none of the pomp and circumstance. It was my peaceful protest. I am really not excited for Barrack Hussein Obama to be president. I am sickened by all the hype over Obama being elected. I DON’T CARE THAT HE’S BLACK! How’s that for not being racist? I actually saw a children’s book with Obama’s face on the cover titled, “Son of Promise, Child of Hope.” WHAT?! Son of what promise? Child of Hope? Yeah, he’s young…so he is a child…but it’s not like he is the Messiah, and I think people are getting carried away, just a bit. It’s ironic that yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I think the good Doctor would be torn about this whole event. For those who are still alive that faced segregation, who actually lived through those horrible times and were told that they were nothing because they were colored, who were called “boy,” who were abused while people looked the other way, I think today was a great day for you. I do. I understand the significance for you of having a black president. For the generations that came after, I think you got robbed. Dr. King said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” I think we failed this way. If you put Obama’s credentials down on paper, he didn’t earn this. He is a one-term senator who barely voted on anything, and was consistently late to congressional hearings. He has no record. His only accomplishment is that he is the first Black President of the United States. It is affirmative action at its highest and its worst. I have nothing, nothing, nothing against having a black president. But I believe that it shouldn’t matter that he’s black. I believe that he only won because he is black. What does that say for us as a country? Some of us still can’t see past color. Just because prejudice has gone the other way doesn’t make it any less true and any less harmful. I didn’t need Obama to win to see how far our country has come. Every day I see inter-racial couples. I see black families in good neighborhoods. I see many many black people who have worked hard, who have earned everything they have, and I hold them in much higher regard than I do Obama. I know that we are doing better. I have been happy at our progress for a long time. I think we took a step backward when we elected a man because of the color of his skin. It saddens me. What does that teach the rising generation? I hope that something positive will come out of this. I hope that this will knock the crutch out from under those who have been using their pigmentation as an excuse to not succeed. Well, not anymore, because YOU CAN BE PRESIDENT! So, suck it up and earn what you get. (I was gonna apologize for the generalization, but it wasn’t one. If you aren’t using your color as a crutch then the comment does not apply to you, so you will only be offended by it if you do.)
During the time that George W. Bush was president there was plenty of hate and trash talk directed at his decisions and him personally. People wore shirts that said, “not my president,” among other things. Well, I am so grateful to live in a country where we are allowed to disagree. I am grateful that I can dislike the person elected to be president and not fear the secret police. I don’t like Obama. I don’t agree with most democrats on most issues. It’s not just him, but I think he represents some of the worst parts of the left extremists. You won’t catch me with a “Not my President” Obama shirt though. Because I am grateful for democracy. If Obama is the President of the United States of America, then for right now, he is my president. While I don’t feel like bigger government and more regulation will help this country, I don’t think we can afford to have him fail. I know so many who are hurting, and so, I will still pray for Obama. I will pray for him to not follow his agenda, but to address each problem individually and seek inspiration from whatever higher power he believes in. I believe that he will, just like Bush did, have many difficult decisions that we may not ever understand, and I know he will not be perfect. I just hope he has faith in the systems that have made our country so great. I have always been and will continue to be proud every day to belong to such a great nation.
Tamlynn said,
January 21, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Well, my kids and I did watch the inaguration. And then I made them write a paper on it.
Just because I didn’t vote for him doesn’t mean my children should not learn about our government. I agree with your entire post, but I think the saddest thing about the whole election was that as a country we couldn’t come up with anybody better (than Obama and McCain) to run for president.
kori said,
January 21, 2009 at 9:54 pm
amen to that sister! Yeah, I don’t think it would have been the greatest thing ever for McCain to have won either.
Dave Miller said,
January 21, 2009 at 10:06 pm
There is saying that I have seen on T-shirts, posters and stickers. It says “No excuses”. Can the election of a black man as president of the United States, now put to rest any further excuses? Who’s the “man” now? or Is the media pulling the biggest sham in U.S. History?
To hear the news, and watch the fanfare, you’d think that there should have been palms laid down on the road where Mr. Obama was walking, or before the car he was traveling in. After his speech, should the media have had five loaves of bread and a couple fish available for him to distribute amongst the masses? Every step he takes is described as such an incredible and awesome thing to witness!
Unfortunately, racism will continue to play its part on the country. It is a business, a power struggle, a tool for hate and misery. Those who practice it have self interest in maintaining its prevalence. What would Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, the Democrat party be if there was no racism. Racism feeds their agenda. It has to exist or there is nothing to blame, there is “no excuses”.
Mark my words, anyone disagreeing with Mr Obama’s agenda or his policies in any manner will be called a racist. It will not matter that he has been elected to highest office in the land. He has been elected primarily because of the color of his skin, and because of the color of his skin he cannot be criticized. The democrats will feed and distribute hateful racist accusations to maintain power and get their agenda moving. It will be emotionally driven, and have little to do with logic, reason, and success.
Mr. Obama is aware of it, and will take full advantage of the environment. “…Content of his character” will be clearly witnessed, but overshadowed by the “…color of his skin”.
Nicole said,
January 21, 2009 at 10:36 pm
Kori, this was so well written. I agree with EVerything you said, EVERYTHING. It takes a lot of guts to say what you said. I have an even harder time expressing my views because people look at me and assume that I feel the same way they do and then when I disagree, they look at me in disgust and kind of, in a way, dis-own me and alas, I am considered a “sell out”. That pisses me off in so many ways. To me, voting for Obama just because he’s black is just as bad as NOT voting for him becuase he’s black. It’s the really the same ignorance. I don’t like seeing his face printed on shirts next to MLK’s as if they’re the same. They’re not. Obama has not amounted to HALF of what he has. He totally stole MLK day, totally. All of my friends are in the whole Obama-nation haze and it sucks cus Im not in it with them and I just don’t feel the same “aww” as they do for him. Im just one of the ones that refused the kool-aid when they brought it to me
Ryan said,
January 21, 2009 at 10:41 pm
While the fact that Obama is black played a huge role in his popularity, I think McCain wasn’t the right candidate to represent the Republicans. I think he was weak and think that he honestly didn’t want to win against the first black candidate. I think President Bush did just as much harm with how far left he went in the end of his presidency. He admits, “I threw away all my free market principles” when reacting to the economic crisis.
My hope is that Obama is a positive example to minorities that they CAN move beyond their real or manufactured limitations. i hope that either Obama will be more moderate and pragmatic with the initiatives he wants to pursue, or that him and; the Democrat controlled Congress will go down in flames and show just how bad their ideas and policies are.
The Conservatives need to retake the Republican party and offer a clear vision of how conservative principles are what this country needs and not just show how bad the opposition is. The problem with that this election is that whatever negative was said about Obama, not only was swept under by most of the media, but also did jive with what people saw when they looked at Obama.
koriharing said,
January 21, 2009 at 10:51 pm
I definitely think the Republican party needs to get back to the basics, the moral and economic foundations it once had and not be ashamed about it. We don’t need to be moderate, we need to get back to the systems that made us great. I was disappointed in McCain for a candidate and also in Bush for caving in to the pressure rather than allowing capitalism to fix itself. It will be interesting to see what happens.
Dave said,
January 21, 2009 at 11:02 pm
“May the FARCE be with Mr. Obama