Time for a change?

Well the election is over and it's time for evaluation and anticipation. First, obviously, my election prediction didn't come true. Sen. McCain had every chance to grab this election by the throat and he simply didn't have the killer instinct. He is definitely a gentleman, but he is just as certainly not the President. However, I don't want to dwell in the past. I believe that things happen for a reason and time will only tell what the reasons are. Frankly, I believe that on election day, over 125 million Americans went to the polls and nearly 53% of them said, "Ahh , what the hell. Let's let this guy try. He can't be any worse, can he?!?"

Let's put this in perspective though. While 66.5 million people voted FOR Obama, over 55 millions voted AGAINST him. When the last two elections were close, we heard the mantra of "minority rights" when it came time to make policy. We will see if that is of great concern now that the Dems are no longer the minority.

It is time though to reflect on the historic nature of this election. All elections are historic for one reason or another, but in this election, clearly the history is in the race of the candidate. (Warning: the following may be deemed politically incorrect and may cause uncontrollable accusations of racism against your humble blogger. Read at your own risk.) First, this is a tremendous achievement and we should all be proud that a man of African heritage has just as much opportunity to reach the highest office in the land as anyone else (with the possible exception of women. Oops, did I say that out loud?!?). A couple of thoughts on this point: does this mean that racism is dead in America now? Simple answer: No. What it means is that racism has been relegated to the underclass. While for years it was mainstream policy, it has now taken its rightful place in the "ash heap of history." (a Reagan quote) Can this kind of success be extrapolated to other Americans of African descent in less notable positions in our society? The simple answer to that is an emphatic: YES! For years I have believed that we had overcome the polarization of past mistakes and that anyone could be rewarded in this society if they were only willing to work hard and get a good education. (Sometimes, working hard is enough) Signs of this kind of success are all around us. Now we have ultimate proof. Will blacks still face racism? Yes. Just as women face sexism, older folks face ageism, fat people face fatism, etc. We all have our crosses to bear, but they can be overcome! (Except for ugly people, there's no hope for them! LOL) My lingering question though is this: why do we celebrate the blacknes of people like Barack Obama, Tiger Woods, and Halle Berry and ignore their other influences. How is saying that Barack Obama is the first black President any different than saying he's just another white guy! After all, he is half black AND half white. Why ignore his whiteness? Why is Tiger Woods considered the most successful black golfer when he's also the most successful white golfer, and the most successful Indian golfer, AND the most successful asian golfer. Aren't those other influences important? Halle Berry wasn't necessarily the first black woman to win the Oscar for Best Actress if you ignore her blackness the way you're ignoring her whiteness. Then she's just another in a long line of white women who have won the award. How 'bout we just do what Martin Luther King said and just judge people on the content of their character and not the color of their skin. Let's see if Obama will set policy with this criteria over the next four years.

Now it's time for a little game, sort of like Where's Waldo? See if you can find the black guy among Barack Obama's economic advisors. Is he here? How 'bout here? No? Ok, how 'bout here? Ok, that was too easy! Amazing how much "change" looks just so familiar.