The 44th President, & The End Of Racism
We now have our 44th President--Barack Hussein Obama II. I'm happy not only because we had a fair and decisive election (though if I hear one more pundit refer to it as a "historic event"--yes, we know it's historic, come up with a new phrase--I might have to hurt them), but because Obama's election signifies a monumental achievement: a beginning to the end of racism.
I know what you're thinking. "Whoa. Hold on there. There are still plenty of racist people in America today! How can you even think that? You're an idiot."
The last part may indeed be true. However, you have to accept the rest. As I've spoken about racism before, a sad truth on predjudice of all types is that their complete erradication is almost assuredly impossible. There are always going to be misguided people who find an excuse--race, sex, religion, college affiliation, hair color, you name it--to hate other people. I don't think any of us ever really see this going away.
The goal, then, is the eradication of these behaviors being accepted in society. You want to be a racist asshole? That's fine, you as an individual can be that way. But the goal is that you'll be shunned by the rest of mainstream society, and that any overt actions you take to hurt the lives of others--physical violence, threatning behaviors, discrimination--will be put down and corrected swiftly by society around you. In other words, everyone has the right to be an asshole--but you don't have the right to hurt someone else's life in any way, shape, or form. Society won't let you.
The election of a minority as President is the final sign that American society has accepted this stance on racism. Literally, it doesn't get any better than this. The man running the most powerful country in the world has been chosen without regard to his race, and most of America is enthusiastically looking forward to his leadership.
There are still minor barriers that minorities can point to (in the sports world, more minority owners is a common example), but the truth is the biggest hurdle has been cleared, the highest mountain has been climbed. America is now truly and unarguably a place where any child born can make the most of their opportunities. Any child born in America can really and truly do ANYTHING, up to and including achieving the role of the most powerul human being in the world.
Regardless of your political feelings towards Obama, this, my friends, is a beautiful and wonderful thing, and deserves to be celebrated. We have finally entered the future we've dreamed of for so long, where we can move on and quit worrying about the mistakes made in the past, because we know that the PRESENT is a place where we are all equal, and where every American can truly be anything they want to be.
God bless America, the greatest nation in the world.
I know what you're thinking. "Whoa. Hold on there. There are still plenty of racist people in America today! How can you even think that? You're an idiot."
The last part may indeed be true. However, you have to accept the rest. As I've spoken about racism before, a sad truth on predjudice of all types is that their complete erradication is almost assuredly impossible. There are always going to be misguided people who find an excuse--race, sex, religion, college affiliation, hair color, you name it--to hate other people. I don't think any of us ever really see this going away.
The goal, then, is the eradication of these behaviors being accepted in society. You want to be a racist asshole? That's fine, you as an individual can be that way. But the goal is that you'll be shunned by the rest of mainstream society, and that any overt actions you take to hurt the lives of others--physical violence, threatning behaviors, discrimination--will be put down and corrected swiftly by society around you. In other words, everyone has the right to be an asshole--but you don't have the right to hurt someone else's life in any way, shape, or form. Society won't let you.
The election of a minority as President is the final sign that American society has accepted this stance on racism. Literally, it doesn't get any better than this. The man running the most powerful country in the world has been chosen without regard to his race, and most of America is enthusiastically looking forward to his leadership.
There are still minor barriers that minorities can point to (in the sports world, more minority owners is a common example), but the truth is the biggest hurdle has been cleared, the highest mountain has been climbed. America is now truly and unarguably a place where any child born can make the most of their opportunities. Any child born in America can really and truly do ANYTHING, up to and including achieving the role of the most powerul human being in the world.
Regardless of your political feelings towards Obama, this, my friends, is a beautiful and wonderful thing, and deserves to be celebrated. We have finally entered the future we've dreamed of for so long, where we can move on and quit worrying about the mistakes made in the past, because we know that the PRESENT is a place where we are all equal, and where every American can truly be anything they want to be.
God bless America, the greatest nation in the world.
Labels: Presidents, Racism
posted by Michael Pondrom at 2:50 AM
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