Barack Obama: On White Women

Let’s be honest. A group of sullen faced black dudes hanging out on a corner dressed in ethnic garb is threatening…period. Not just to “white women”, but to anyone who passes. Same deal with a group of white guys with jeans down around their butt, tattoos encircling their arms, scowling at you as you approach. This isn’t about race or prejudice, it’s about intimidation. How, exactly, does Obama think white women should react in this situation?

I once was present at a lecture given by the Director of Multicultural Affairs at a local university. One of his issues with whites was that they never looked a black person in the eye when passing them on the campus. I quickly pointed out to him that friendliness is a two-way street. How many times has that black person looked me in the eye with a smile as opposed to a glare? How many photos of black men with warm smiles have you seen? Don’t let Barack Obama deflect the blame. God gave us a fear response to protect us from harm. Black women are just as fearful of those dudes on the corner as white women are and if someone of any color glares at me, I will not be inclined to greet them with a big smile.

There will always be prejudice…racial, ethnic, geographical, political, sexual…and there will always be fear of those who present a threatening demeanor. Stereotypes aren’t developed in a room by some writer attempting to develop a character. They are born of incidents that happen again and again through a long history of events. The number of times that stereotypes prove to be true is what keeps them alive. So don’t insult and demean me by asking me to overlook your anger or attitude…change it!

Barack Obama: Not Ready for Prime Time

There’s been a lot of outrage this week about a comment made by Geraldine Ferraro:

“If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman of any color, he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.”

The mystique began several years ago when the media talked about the young black senator from Illinois. In a December 11, 2005, interview with The Sunday Times, George Clooney said,

“...Obama, 44, has been dubbed his party’s “great black hope” and is widely seen as a credible candidate to become America’s first black president…he could attract the two groups who rarely show up to vote — young people and blacks. He’s the guy to get behind.”

Was Clooney’s remark racist? If Obama were white, would he have been his party’s “great white hope”? Politics is all about public recognition…name recognition. If you are not known or memorable to the public, you stand very little hope of competing in politics. Every successful candidate has had something that made them remarkable. Obama is an eloquent speaker, but the thing that makes him memorable is the color of his skin.

There are large numbers of people in this country to whom color makes no difference…they are white. There are also large numbers of people to whom color makes a big difference…they are black. They are people like like Jesse Jackson, Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Louis Farrakhon who want the issue to be color. Not only does it provide them with job security, but it allows them to use the cry of racism to deflect criticism and avoid answering the tough questions. Otherwise, Barack Obama may not stand up to the scrutiny. If they are successful in their intimidation, we may soon have a president who will never be questioned or criticized.

Do the Research

"We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty or profusion and servitude. If we run into such debt, as that we must be taxed in our meat and in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and our amusements, for our calling and our creeds...[we will] have no time to think, no means of calling our miss-managers to account but be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves to rivet their chains on the necks of our fellow-sufferers... “ Thomas Jefferson

A stranger calls and asks you to recommend them for a high paying position within your company. They have been told that you are considered to have a great deal of credibility within the company and probably can influence the decision. The stranger promises not to betray your trust and will find a way to pay you back for your recommendation. Do you risk your position and credibility and recommend them?

Most people with even moderate intelligence would say “No”. However, isn’t this precisely what we are being asked to do by all of the presidential candidates? We really don’t know them…only who and what they say they are. If only we will support them with money and votes, they promise not to betray our trust. What makes us so willing to buy into their scam? Because we are so shallow that we can’t let the other side win under any circumstances? Or because we don’t know how to change things?

These candidates are not our best and our brightest. They are politicians who will say whatever it takes to get our votes and gain our trust. When they do, the rewards are tremendous…unlimited power. The best and the brightest don’t want any part of the political scene. They have no desire to become involved in the filth of campaigning. Ask not what I can do for my country; let me tell you what a lying piece of scum my opponent is.

We, fellow Americans, are the losers in both cases. After spending 12 years as a school director, I can say without hesitation that power corrupts…real power or the assumption of power... even at this, the lowest level of politics. If it exists here, imagine what’s at stake at the highest levels of government. It’s time for those of us who live quiet lives outside of the limelight to demand more from our representatives. We need to stop relying on these users to tell us what is best for us and do the research for ourselves. It’s the only thing that will keep us free.

Tantrums of Government

"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg."
-- Thomas Jefferson (Notes on the State of Virginia, Query 17, 1782)

Oh how intelligent and sensible our founding fathers truly were! And when I read a quote like this, it reminds me how much foresight they possessed. I struggle to try and understand how a minority as small as one person can change the lives of millions of people just by claiming that they have been injured, when no physical harm has come to them. A child, in it's immaturity, will run crying to it's mother at the slightest afront, hoping that she will punish the "bully". When the parent complies out of desparation to stop the tantrum, the child is empowered and has learned that this manipulation will bring the desired results. A monster has been created.

I have learned, and I hope I have taught my children, that Consequences are the greatest teacher. Although they sometimes cause us pain, they bring us the greatest self-respect and maturity. It is the consequences of our wise choices that empower us to create something better, and the consequences of our poor choices that make us wiser and smarter. Those who cry "bully" and require someone else to spare them the consequences will win temporarily, but they and their generations will always be the load society must carry. They will continue to make the same mistakes over and over again, until eventually, they will make an error so drastic that no one can save them...not even the government. We will all suffer along the way.

Today most of our government representatives, and I use the term loosely, are those grown immature children that want everything and have learned that they can get what they want by placing the blame on someone else. They have claimed immunity from the consequences of their own actions by diverting the attention to others, then throwing tantrums so that the focus will be turned away from their own poor choices. This is my generation and I am ashamed for them all, but although they have picked my pocket, they have not yet broken my leg.

Learning from the Past

I thought "What a wonderful idea...this blogging thing!" It would really be fun to talk unencumbered by the rules of formal conversation...to express my wildest ideas and theories...to talk about secret passions and annoyances. As I sat down to write my first post, I suddenly realized that it takes a lot of courage to blog. Strangely, it didn't bother me that millions of strangers could have access to my inner thoughts, but what would my friends and family think? My CHILDREN ? It's their opinions that matter, because they are the ones who will carry on to the next generation what they have learned from me as a parent.

Recently, my cousin sent me a picture of my parents hugging, laughing and mugging for the camera. This picture was taken in July, 1929, three months before the stock market crashed. It struck me immediately that I had never known my parents when they were happy, having fun with each other. I had only known them struggling to keep the bills paid...pinching pennies so that I could have those white tennis shoes, not the red or blue ones, for gym class. They were strict as parents, but I know now that their rules were established out of love and a fear that if they weren't vigilant, something bad would happen to me. I wish I had seen this picture while they were still alive and I wish I knew more about who they were before they were my parents. I think my children know me, but maybe it would surprise them to know how I became who I am today. Maybe it's time to surprise them.