I wasn’t going to comment as I haven’t been sure exactly what to say in regard to the speech and all the tumult surrounding it. But [...]]]> I was fortunate enough to catch the President’s address to our school kids today on CSPAN. I was thrilled and inspired. What an honor to be addressed by YOUR PRESIDENT.

I wasn’t going to comment as I haven’t been sure exactly what to say in regard to the speech and all the tumult surrounding it. But having read and responded to another comment over at Watchdog Milwaukee, I’ve managed to collect a few of my thoughts.

The writer over at Watchdog Milwaukee remembers her reaction when Reagan was shot – while she was a liberal democrat and opposed to nearly every political agenda of Reagan’s, she was upset and horrified that HER PRESIDENT had been shot.

I was too young to have much of an opinion about politics during the Reagan era, but seeing MY PRESIDENT attacked and possibly dead was most upsetting to me as a high-school-age student.

In light of OUR PRESIDENT’s inspiring message to youth today, and all the fury, uproar and suspicion surrounding it, what can I possibly say?

Do I write about how disgusted and disenchanted I feel about fellow human beings who could behave this way – as to picket the school where the President was to give his address?

Do I defend Obama’s policies? (which didn’t have and were never intended to have anything to do with his first-day-of-school address)

Do I point out the more politically oriented (and unchallenged) speeches given to children by Reagans and Bushes?

Or do I spew back the hate and preach to the choir, never changing the opinion of even a single misguided soul?

I wish I could agree with the Milwaukee author that race isn’t a big issue – but as a white kid who grew up Republican, then graduated with a degree in African-American music, and gained years of experience working with and teaching members of the black community, I can tell you I’m pretty sure race has everything to do with the nature of this hatred and suspicion cast on President Obama.

My experiences as a young student and teacher after high school shaped the liberal political views I hold today. I learned much more than most white kids my age about being black, without actually being black. I saw the world from the perspective of the inner-city and the underprivileged – and none of those new experiences were compatible with the conservative rhetoric I was fed by my parents and media growing up. I learned something about what racism really is, and I can smell it a hundred miles away.

They hated Clinton too – they came after him and eventually brought him down – but we never saw *anything* like this…

Sadly, most of today’s crop of haters and shouters will never admit. Most are in denial. Most consider themselves good and fair people. The roots of racism run deep.

I can’t proove it. I’m not a sociologist nor a political scientist.

But I am a white guy who grew up in a white Republican town. My Mother and Grandmother were members of the D.A.R. I grew up hearing about what a hero McCarthy was, and how the Vietnam protesters didn’t love our country. I lived through the rhetoric about communism taking over our schools. I know these people because they are part of me and I was one of them.

My later experiences in life brought me into the inner-city as a teacher and student. They took me overseas to work in a multi-cultural environment neither owned nor controlled by an American. I saw the world from a new perspective – and the sheltered, blind, half-truths and rhetoric of my youth died away.

No, I’m not a sociologist or political scientist. But I know racism when I see it and smell it. As I said in another post, I believe the last vestiges of it have been dealt a death knell.

Long live the President.

I read an article this morning, Stumbled to me by my wife’s long time friend Sarah. The article is [...]]]> I had a conversation recently. The subject was the curious nature of what bothers people. It seems odd to me, particularly in regard to the public at large, the things that do and do not bother people.

I read an article this morning, Stumbled to me by my wife’s long time friend Sarah. The article is by New York Times op-ed columnist Bob Herbert and is titled Women At Risk.

In the article, Mr. Herbert speaks of the tragic shooting in Pennsylvania, where a man walked into an aerobics class and opened fire with multiple firearms and dozens of rounds – killing three and wounding five.

The shooter’s motivation was his rage surrounding his long term rejection by women.

Mr. Herbert makes an interesting observation – the shooter clearly targeted women. Yet, had he targeted victims by race or religion we would likely be experiencing a public outrage.

I know my own reaction was one of horror (I learned of the incident while working out at my health club) – and shock. Yet, the sexist nature of the attack never occurred to me. Mr. Herbert wonders if we have “…become so accustomed to living in a society saturated with misogyny that the barbaric treatment of women and girls has come to be more or less expected…”.

While we were saddened at this event, the outrage that would have occurred if the attack was against a group of African-Americans, Jewish people, or a group of gays did not occur. It is an interesting observation.

I have often wondered what makes some things acceptable to people while others remain intolerable.

I know there is a certain segment of the US population that tend towards the right-wing and aligns strongly with a modern fundamental version of Christianity. As a group, these people strongly support the torture of terrorist suspects through so-called humane torture practices such as water-boarding. They also strongly support the death-penalty. They have recently become most vocal about what they think will be the bankrupting of the country on social and domestic programs. They loudly voice that they don’t want their tax dollars squandered on social programs. They support the so-called war on terror and US aid and weapons to Israel.

Here’s what I don’t understand. They don’t want their tax dollars to be spent on domestic and social programs, yet it is ok to send those tax dollars to a nation in the Middle-East that is barbarically and systematically waging a war of genocide against the occupants of the very lands they revere as holy sites? (that would be places like Bethlehem and Jericho…). It is ok for their tax dollars to buy F-16’s for raids against Gaza and Lebanon, but not to improve the social condition back home. I briefly mention the UN report that demonstrates the amount of money we’ve spent on the Iraq war would lift the ENTIRE PLANET above the poverty level for two years. Just think about that for a moment.

It is ok to execute prisoners, even though our judicial system heavily favors those with the financial resources to wage a full defense. It isn’t the worst system in the world, but it isn’t fair. And if it isn’t fair, how can you have a good conscience about supporting the death penalty? How can you support society’s right to *choose* who to execute, yet not support a woman’s right to choose what to do with her own body?

Our founding fathers were very clear about their desire for the separation of church and state… So how can you call the US a Christian nation? How can you be in favor of less governmental control, yet at the same time want the government to demand prayer in schools? What about the First Amendment?

And lastly – the Jesus that I learned about in Sunday school, and read about in the New Testament told people they should get rid of their possessions, refrain from making judgments about each other, and render unto Caesar what was his. If these words – of Jesus – are to supersede the Old Testament law – and carry more weight than those of Paul – how can these other ideas stand firmly with such a large section of vocal Republican fundamentalists?

To loosely try and tie all this back together, I can’t make sense out of what bothers and doesn’t bother us as a nation or why.

Whether you are a Republican, a Democrat, conservative or liberal – whether you like it or don’t like it – you have witnessed history.

I recently stumbled across a [...]]]> It is a fascinating time to be an American. We’ve just witnessed a pivotal moment in United States history, the election of Barack Obama as our forty-fourth President.

Whether you are a Republican, a Democrat, conservative or liberal – whether you like it or don’t like it – you have witnessed history.

I recently stumbled across a website collection of the World’s newspaper coverage of the inauguration. There were near 650 images of world newspaper front pages the last time I checked.

I feel a buoyancy in my heart and a new pride in being American. I am so encouraged and optimistic.

What troubles me are some of the comments in the StumbleUpon reviews of this site. It seems that not everyone shares the joy I feel over the inauguration of our new president.

Fortunately, the negative comments were in the minority. However, the sheer vitriol, virulence, and hatred in these comments deeply disturbs me.

For the most part, the negative comments were resentful that people are “sheep” who are “fawning nauseatingly”. Generally, the negative folks couldn’t grasp the reason why “their Stumbles” were full of Obama related sites (not that these folks don’t list ‘politics’ as one of their Stumble interests). They could not grasp the significance of the inauguration of Barack Obama. But before I try to explain that (without injecting my own politics if I can help it), I want to quote some of these negative reviews.

Xtolyrexes

E…FUCKING…NOUGH already. What’s next? Pictures of the first black man’s shit in the west wing toilet? I hate to break it to you sheep, but he is not the second coming of Christ. You’ll finally get it in a few months when you see how fucked up he makes things.

aharonb

Oh wonderful, more pictures of the “Saviour.” Please stop stumbling this crap

Pottled-Benis

I warned you. What’d I say? First two days after the election this shit was still ‘cute’ now it’s annoying as fuck. I haven’t seen something so talked about to the point of being boring since… …Oprah’s fat ass? Yeah that works.

So here it is. Here is the significance – and again, it does not matter what your politics are to understand it.

Our Country brought West Africans to our shores by force on ships beginning in the early 1600’s and continued legally until 1865 – when it became outlawed with the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution – an amendment that was not officially recognized by the State of Mississippi until 1995. (that is nineteen-NINETY-five). They were brought by force, in chains, to be sold as slaves.

At the conclusion of legal African slavery in the US, many black people continued working on in slavery conditions because they had nowhere else to go. In the centuries since then, we have seen an increase in opportunity and otherwise, but progress has been slow.  Many people today have grand-parents who were slaves. There are still many who remember segregation vividly. There are many who remember much worse.

My own European ancestors, both those on my Mother’s side who came from England and France, and those on my Father’s side who came from Italy came here of their own free will. They came here with a bit of money. They came here speaking the language. They came here with education and skills. In some cases they faced bigotry, but the assimilation process was fairly easy. Opportunity was abundant.

The African ancestors had no such advantages. They were forbidden to speak their own languages, they were forbidden to practice their own religion. It was forbidden to teach them to read or write. They had the same legal status as a dog or a pig – chattel property – and in many cases would have considered the life of the family pig or dog a promotion in status.

So regardless of a person’s politics, I think they should be able to see why this is SIGNIFICANT. For the first time, a man of African decent has been elected to the nation’s highest office. President of the United States! All the way from “Chattel Property”. It gives me goose bumps.

This is deeply meaningful on many levels. It proves that a man with black skin and African heritage can indeed do anything. It proves that the remaining vestiges of racism have been handed a death sentence.

A Savior? I don’t believe in saviors really – and salvation really has nothing to do with it.