First off: Barack Obama. The word “Obama” has risen to almost symbolize an entire cultural movement than it does a lone presidential hopeful. I have seen things in the past few months that I have never witnessed: graffiti displayed on buildings short and tall, sidewalks, and lamp posts, almost all exhibiting a call for rebellion against the current Republican regime. And this following is flowing through the crevices that Barack Obama has made. Through his words and eloquence, this black man has risen up to not just be a leader of his race and minorities in general, but the whole culture of the proudly underprivileged street society. This was evident to me while I walked the streets of San Francisco and L.A., gazing upon the messages of the voiceless, the anti-press conference everyday individuals who conceived an image to spray onto the street for all to see. Not to mention the now immortalized Shepard Fairey poster of Obama’s face that has garnished cities and internet sites across the board. No, graffiti is not the only form of communication from this class of society, but also music. All forms of music have been put forth in an effort to get citizens who wouldn’t regularly listen to a rally or debate to hear Senator Obama’s words. These are prime examples of the effort of the people of this country, the people who these men are attempting to lead, to influence the future of their lives and land.
Before I come across as a total Obama groupie, let me discuss McCain. From my first introduction to him many years ago on the TV set while he was attempting to run for President I have immensely respected John McCain. The man’s story should be made into a movie for Christ sake; it is hard to even imagine a soldier going through what he went through while being kept as a prisoner. In fact back then; being as young and naïve to politics as I was (and maybe still am), I wanted John McCain to win almost solely for that reason. Does it not seem as if it is the natural move for a man such as himself? To serve his country, be kept as a hostage and tortured for years, rebound and serve his country again in his state of Arizona even after what he went though… and become president? Perfect! John McCain has risen to the position he is at now because he has enough strength within himself to persevere through things most men can only imagine, and he seems to be one cool cat. Unfortunately, that was John McCain at a time of his life that has now since passed when he won the nomination. I would be bold enough to say it was the fault of the entire Republican party, but tomorrow has not yet passed so I cannot say it was a failure as of yet. However, McCain’s transformation from my eyes has been directly linked to his nomination. Though I am only speculating, I would presume that under nerves of finally being a stone’s throw from the presidency, McCain fell under his own weight and let his advisors do more than advise him, but control him. Gone was the slick maverick John McCain, and now was the awkward, uber-repetitive, fragile John McCain. They were victims of “playing it safe”.
Enter Palin. In an attempt to shake things up, McCain playing off his maverick self-given nickname chooses a woman he has only spoken to ONCE before, as his running mate. I see this ploy as an attempt to counter the “African-American” mystique surrounding Obama, since Obama in that sense truly does symbolize what both parties are preaching: Change. And for one glorious week, it worked. The GOP was in cloud nine, women were united behind her, and the Republicans had their weapon of change in the bag, until the weapon opened her lip stick smeared mouth. Revealing her knowledge of White House centered government was the equivalent of a medical journal written by Dr. Seuss, things began to plummet in the GOP, though the main body of loyalists stayed intact.
Since those weeks of the National Conventions of both parties, Americans themselves, or rather their attitudes, have shared the spotlight with the candidates. In good ol’ Crips vs. Bloods fashion, Democrats and Republican followers quickly took their battle stances and put up their guard. Not surprising were these actions, since it’s always an occurrence of the four-year presidential elections. But sadly, this increasingly became more intense than years prior. The epicenter was the south. Racial tensions heated up, and with that, came the Obama laden dolls hanging from trees, racial slurs being yelled during McCain-Palin rally’s, and hate filled propaganda being passed around that mindlessly put Muslims on center stage. This deeply saddened me, not because I thought racism was gone, but when I saw the men and women in videos on CNN and looked into their eyes and seeing a sense of fun in it, I could not believe it. I will never forget an old man holding a Curious George doll with an Obama sticker around its head, waving it to the camera with a smile on his face.
Racism is not dead. It is far from it. It affects almost everyone, everywhere. But no where have I seen it more evident than what was shown in the South during the past month. Do I think these people have become prey to their own ignorance? Yes. Do I believe people will still think Obama is a terrorist with ties to Al-Qaeda four years from now? There will be some. There will always be some of every intolerant group until we educate our public adequately, and spread peace and knowledge among our children, so one day they will be our ambassadors of unity across the globe.
I consider myself an independent. It is not in my personality to choose a party and remain loyal to it. In regards to elections, I choose the person fit for the position, parties not involved. Though from the beginning of my political life when I was able to understand the parties and how politics work, I have concluded so far in my life that I do side with the Democratic Party. Honestly, I would be more exact in saying I am against the Republican Party. If you are curious to why, just look back at the past eight years for your answer. We were lied to, fooled, and taken advantage of by people we have never met, who will never meet us. They were people who were elected by their country, and flatly neglected everyone who could have been neglected within our land and beyond. And the same people who elected them had faith enough to elect them twice!
The demographics of our country are changing, even if it is only slightly. The youth are becoming educated, and we are on path to change the world and the face of politics for the new generations. Our older generation, loyal to the Republican Party, who grew up either fighting for or against civil rights, is disappearing. The old man with the Curious George doll, the white men and women voting for McCain just because they cannot let their idea of a white ruled America go, will one day be gone. And once they are gone, it will be we, the ones who witnessed their mistakes, rising to the occasion. We will make choices out of the search for solutions, and not out of the influence of hate. This election, regardless of the winner, illustrates that America is changing, and each span of four years, a new class will be sent forth to fix their parents errors, further striving till that day when the world, and not just America, will one day be in harmony.
So I leave it as this: tomorrow we will have a winner of this long fought battle. America’s future will be in the balance, as it is every day. But in each day we control our destiny, and we are the conductors to our dreams. One day things will change, and when we hit disastrous times, we can always depend on hope.
To the readers who will read this in the future, as I am sure the majority of you are, think hard of what the times are like for the world now, and what needs to be changed and how you will correct it.
Until then, if your fear of change influenced your vote for this election, be prepared:
you will one day be the minority.
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