The American Dream is Real
Although I am a critic of Sen. Barack Obama, and I assume I will be a critic of him in the coming years unless he surprises me by being more of a moderate than I think he is, today marks a great day nonetheless. The reason is that Obama’s victory proves once again that the American Dream is real and that if someone wants to reach the top, he or she can do so, regardless of the color of his (her) skin, gender, family heritage and parents.
Obama is the son of an immigrant from Kenya. Most of his relatives are Muslim, as were his biological and stepfather. His cousins living in Kenya are Muslim, and quite religious at that. The other part of his relatives are white and Christian or not religious. Obama is black, while America was ruled by segregation for 100 years, and before that slavery was prevalent and considered ‘the right place’ for blacks.
But yesterday evening that man won the presidential election. For the first time in history, a black with a Muslim-Christian background won. And he did not just win, he won in a landslide, winning states that have traditionally been red and accuses of xenophobia and even downright racism.
That alone is truly a great accomplishment, and a testimony to America’s morality, open-mindedness and tolerance. Blacks were told for centuries that they could never become president, that there was one thing they could not accomplish simply because of the color of their skin. Yesterday proved this to be incorrect: nothing holds them back if they want to achieve the highest. The sky is the limit, as it always was in ‘the land of the free and the home of the brave.’
In the coming years, it is likely that we here at PoliGazette, which is generally moderate conservative, will criticize Obama’s policies and actions, and defend him every now and then when we believe his policies make sense. But during those years, when we criticize him, we should never forget that this man’s victory was long considered impossible and that by his victory alone, he has done more for his country than many others in their entire lifetime.
It is a great day to be an American, and a great day to be an America watcher. We in Europe can only hope that we too will once elect a member of a minority Prime Minister (or in some countries president). Xenophobia, racism and Islamophobia are increasing here on the old continent, but America showed that it can also be different, that immigrants and their children can play an important role in society if we only let them.
And for that, for that I, a conservative Dutchman, thank Obama – and the American people.
Thank you for such a beautiful article.
It’s been very interesting living through this election as the mother of a brown skinned boy, but also as one who has not supported Barack Obama.
My son is a very smart and curious boy, and he noticed at a very early age that his skin tone is much different than the rest of our family (he’s Guatemalan by birth, adopted as an infant into our very white skinned family.) When he was two years old, he began approaching African American and Hispanic people and saying “Are you brown? I’m brown, see? LOL
This campaign has captured his attention (he just turned 7 years old) and when his class first started discussing the election, of course the historic nature of Obama’s candidacy was discussed. He came home and asked who we were voting for, and I told him John McCain- but also explained that I am very glad that we live in a country where someone’s skin color doesn’t mean he can’t be president. He asked about why we were supporting John McCain and I did my best to give a crash course in conservatism vs. liberalism, in my best attempt to give him a balanced view while also explaining why I believe conservatism is the best course for our country.
Whether he understood that or whether the election took on more of a ‘team’ mentality, I don’t know- but he became a booster for John McCain. Most days when he’d pass by as I was watching campaign coverage on TV, he’d ask, “Is John McCain winning?”
This morning when I woke him and told him the results, he initially expressed disappointment. I reminded him that in our country, we respect the outcome of an election even if it’s not the choice we would have made, and I also reminded him that we should be happy and proud that a man with brown skin can become our president.
Of course this prompted him to say, “Yeah, but I can’t because I wasn’t born here, right?”
I’m thinking I may need to become an activist for a Constitutional amendment to change the ‘natural born citizen’ requirement.
Nice post, Michael, and great follow-up C.Stanley. We all wish President Obama success, and applaud his energy and ability to run a campaign which really puts a human face on the notion that the American Dream is not restricted to only those who are white, and male. Like Michael, I expect to be critical of some, perhaps many of President Obama’s decisions and policies. However, I also expect to applaud and support those which are in line with my center-right conservative views. As I posted earlier, I am hoping that President Obama will exceed my most optimistic expectations for him. Right now, its only right that we all rally around the people’s choice, and give him the support he will need to address the challenges ahead.
Michael,
I nice article and noble sentiment. I hope this is the tone that most of the right moves forward with and I hope most on the left will be equally gracious in victory.
CS,
Very nice.
Classy comment, Michael. Hopefully this election will lead to a new era of race relations, and we can put our ugly past behind us.
kritter: It is to be hoped that this will help with race relations. Obviously nothing will ever end racism, but anything positive can help (i.e. him getting elected, not necessarily his policies)
Yeah, I hate to spoil the party but this kind of sounds like the famous “but-Oprah-did-it-so-why-can’t-you” argument. In every sense of the word. I’m not saying it’s not cathartic or good, in fact, it’s a very feel-good type of movement and a warm and fuzzy experience brought to you by the American dream.
I’m not saying that American dream doesn’t exist or can’t be real, but let’s face the fact that Obama was urged to run for presidency right from the start despite having no relevant experience by many who were disillusioned with where America was going, and somehow putting a non-white MAN would change that. Nobody had that kind of privilege, not even George Bush who was anointed with many gifts due to his family dynasty but who also had to earn his way to the White House with experiences such as that of governing a state like Texas.
I’m sorry. But Barack Obama did NOT earn it, nor did he deserve it. He just projected people’s dreams on a screen, and people wanted to keep that going. Ironic because after eight years of Bush now we get a complete polar opposite yet similar leadership in many ways.
Let’s not forget how much sexism Hillary had to face in the media and beyond. By the very same guys who brought Obama to your living rooms. To me that is NOT the American dream, it’s quite the American nightmare.