You may have read the anecdote of how this became the rallying cry of Barack Obama's campaign for the presidency. If not, briefly, Mr. Obama was speaking to a paltry crowd. It was a rainy day. The campaign had been hitting some rough organizational patches in the road. A woman, Edith Chiles, from the back of the crowd shouted out"Fired up. Ready to go." She repeated the phrase until it spread to the other people in attendance. Obama says the story illustrates that one voice can change a room, a city, a state, a country as it spreads a message of hope.
I'm not as cynical as the next guy. I might even confess to being a bit naive. But when I hear Obama speak I hear not just his voice but the voice of those who have drawn and continue to draw the raw deal of intentional and unintentional racism. I hear the prospect of hope for deliverance from our past. Not just the near, and increasingly irrelevant past of The Decider, but the distant past of slavery.
In some of the most moving and eloquent words ever written, his Second Inaugural Address, President Lincoln said, "Yet, if God wills that it (the Civil War) continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, ... "
Thankfully, the scourge of civil war has passed. Yet, One Hundred and Forty Three years after the end of that war, who among us disproportionately draws the menial duties? Of course, there's Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and a host of other sports stars but these athletes don't offer young black kids the realistic prospect of joining the mainstream of society. My workplace is not segregated by law. One hundred percent of the office personnel are white. One hundred percent of the factory personnel are black. Are these cards dealt from a well-shuffled deck?
Senator Obama is a messenger of hope who wields a sword of inspiration. It is my hope and my belief that such a figure can finally put racism at the back of the bus. His will not be an easy campaign. Even now, I'm sure, the 2008 version of Slime Boat Veterans for Truth are preparing to sow seeds of fear and division about the prospect of a black man with a funny foreign-sounding name ascending to the presidency.
Surely, after years of wasted opportunities and millions of lives lived with the weight of racism on their shoulders we can look at this man and get fired up at the prospect of ending the centuries-long curse. It is my hope that we're ready to go into a better, more equitable future.
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5 comments:
Great post and excellent point.
sorry John but i dont believe Obama has the experience, depth of knowledge and most importantly the credibility to be President. I do not feel he is stating any real positions on the issues and talks in vague rhetoric, my support is going to John Edwards, of course by the time Indiana votes the nominee is more than likely known.
ecology warrior:
If I had my way, we'd be tallying up the primary victories for Al Gore on his way to the nomination and certain election in the fall. But my choice has said he's out of the question.
Given the existing field, however, I believe Obama offers something concrete, but more importantly, he offers the chance to expiate, at least to some degree, for our nation's Original Sin of slavery.
Also, don't forget that Obama's background holds at least two meaningful clues to the way in which he might govern.
1)He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and has been on the faculty at the University of Chicago as a lecturer in Constitutional law. Maybe it's just me, but I think we could use a fellow with some understanding and appreciation of our Constitution beyond that exemplified by the Current Occupant's procilivity to, either ignore, or to tread with fascist-leaning boots upon that document.
2)After graduation from law school, a man with his credentials could have had the lucrative doors of Wall Street swing open for him.
He did not take that path, but went to Chicago where he worked in the rather un-glamorous and less lucrative field of community organizing.
Perhaps under the heading of "Always a Bridesmaid Never a Bride", Obama could entice Al Gore to be his running mate. Gore could continue his work for the environment. He would need to distance himself from his money-making endeavors (I can't recall who, but some vice presidents have had business interests which they put on hold during their tenure and some have claimed to do so).
He would, without doubt, be able to assume the duties of the presidency if tragedy struck.
He would also be ready to perform his main function as a vice presidential candidate from day one: eviscerating the Republican presidential candidate.
Sorry John but I must agree with Tim on this one. If we can't have Al Gore then would I prefer Edwards over Obama.
I like Obama, he is very intelligent and articulate but he just doesn't seem to have the experience as some of the other candidates.
On another note, you menioned race in your comment. Everyone in the news media refers to him as the African Amercan candidate. Only his father is from Africa, his mother is caucasion and from Kansas. Technically he is bi-racial.
I'm not trying to be funny. Personally I wish they would leave race completely out of the picture for him as well as gender in reference to Hillary. After all of these years our country should be over this by now.
Shirley:
I like Edwards's populist rhetoric. Calling his words rhetoric is, by no means intended to demeam them. I'd be happy to vote for him if he's the nominee of the Democratic Party.
I would have preferred a stronger field, given the reality that Al Gore won't join the fray. By all rights he is the man of the moment.
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