Why an Obama Presidency Would Be Good
That is, I am sure, a surprising headline for many of you considering I wrote it, but don’t hold your breath; I won’t make the case for Obama.
Rather, I believe that him becoming president will have positive side effects, none of them related to the man’s policies, plans, or abilities.
You see, as an American Studies student I am, of course, fully aware of America’s racist past, and of its attempt to break with it, to reshape society into becoming colorblind. The country’s racist past has not only been a burden for blacks, but also for whites. They too are still connected to it, not out of fear that they will become racist once again, and also not because they are still racist, but because quite some of them feel they have to ‘deal’ with the past in one way or another.
Which brings me to the following observation: Americans are still obsessed with race. Not out of racism, but in a ‘groupthink’ kind of way. Quite some people seem to look at people as ‘members of a community.’ That community is, when the person is not white, based on the color of people’s skin.
As such, I believe that electing Obama would bring an end to the ‘we have to make up for our racist past’ kind of reasoning. If Obama wins, it will also be clear that the color of one’s skin does not prevent one from becoming president, and winning elections, meaning that ‘the race card’ and ‘racism’ cannot be used in the future as valid excuses for African American candidates, nor for those who wish to become successful in other professions.
Even if Obama will be a horrible president, this will be over and done with. Americans will have to overcome all those notions, all those feelings of guilt, in order for them to take a more healthy approach to an African American politician next time around.
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Was actually discussing this with a friend who’s slightly older than me this morning. She mentioned that a few times when she’s said things to her kids (who are college age) that are critical of Obama- things which have NOTHING to do with race whatsoever, they’ve responded by saying that she sounds so racist. We were commenting on how obsessed the younger generation seems to be with this, and the fact that some of their enthusiasm for Obama seems to stem from a need to ‘prove’ that they are less racist than their parents’ generation.
Interesting. Now by contrast my kids haven’t said anything that would lead me to believe they need to “undo” my/our past. Barack Obama’s skin color seems to be a non-issue for them.
(Oh, and other than my Navy son who’s always admired John McCain, I have no idea how they will vote. I just hope they vote.)
The race card isn’t going away with Obama as President. There will always be someone out there who will try to use it. In many cases, they’ll be wrong. But in some, they’ll be right, since racism isn’t dead in America, and electing Obama won’t change that.
MM, surely you must concede that it is enormously frustrating and counterproductive when some Obama supporters (including some people closely linked to the campaign) equate ALL disagreement or criticism of him as “racism”?
I am beginning to feel strongly that the candidate himself is under an obligation to explicitly address this issue. I think his promises to offer a new type of politics minimally require at least that much in response to detestable rhetorical tactics used repeatedly on his behalf.