Race and the president-elect

9:33 AM Posted In , , , Edit This 0 Comments »
As I watched the news this morning, I found it highly disturbing that many of my fellow Obama supporters interviewed placed a high importance on his ethnicity and the role it would play in his performance as president. One soldier in Iraq said, "He'll do a better job because he's black."

To my mind, this way of thinking perpetuates the existence of racism by basing the judgment on one's potential and performance on the colour of her or his skin.

Yes, I do identify with Obama as we are both minorities. Yes, I would feel safer in my Paganism and that the separation of church and state would be better upheld with him as president because he himself belongs to a minority. The latter certainly did factor into my decision, but is far from the primary reason. I edumucated myself as to his policies in comparison to McCain's, and their respective histories. It was the whole package that convinced me. I could give a whole slew of reasons before I listed the colour of his skin; such as economic plan, protecting the environment, intent in Iraq, and more.

As Martin Luther King Jr. put it, who has been referred to many times this morning, "judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

0 comments: