As the 2008 Presidential Campaign inches forward, the focus has been squarely on the two remaining candidates for the Democratic nomination: Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama. In the midst of this, a question of race has been raised. Are Americans ready for a non-white president? Will Americans elect a non-white president?
Obviously it is not good to vote against someone because he’s black, but It’s just as bad to vote for him because he’s black. People should vote based on how they think that person would perform in office. But if we were to assume all things were equal aside from race, is that still a factor in the mind of Americans?Clearly Barrack Obama hopes it is not. Last week for the first time, Senator Obama addressed the issue of race head-on in a speech he gave in Philadelphia. He explained that an America that is distracted by issues of race would never be able to tackle healthcare, the economy, or the war in Iraq. He explained that it is time “to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native-American children…” Obama is trying to remove race as a factor in the election.
In 2000, the Jewish community was amazed that Senator Joseph Lieberman seemed to overcome his minority status when he was pegged by Al Gore to serve as his Vice Presidential running mate. Lieberman was the first Jew ever to run on a major American party presidential ticket. There was a time when it would be unfathomable for a Jew to achieve such a position in the government, and in 2000 the issue was barely a blip on the screen.
But we know that racism in this country has a long and ugly history that may not quietly disappear overnight.
In 1968, the same day the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King was shot and killed, Senator Robert F. Kennedy had the following to say:
“In this difficult time for the United States, it is perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are, and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black… you can be filled with bitterness, with hatred and a desire for revenge. We can move in that direction as a country, in great polarization – black people amongst black, white people amongst white, filled with hatred toward one another.
“Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and to replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love.”
We have come a long way since 1968, and race is far less divisive in this country than it once was. The question we have to ask ourselves is not whether Barrack Obama should be nominated by the Democratic Party or elected by the American people. The question right now is not about Obama’s policies, beliefs, or anything about him at all. The success of his campaign so far simply gives us the opportunity as a nation to do a little introspection and soul-searching. Therefore the questions is:
Do you think America is ready to not care about the race/ethnicity of the President? Post your opinion or comments here.
Posted by eimatai 
