I try very hard to teach my children that it is ok and even anticipated that they make mistakes. As human beings cursed with our own free will, we are expected to err with the understanding that those errors will teach us something and help us to evolve into better versions of ourselves. We must acknowledge and admit to our mistakes, reflect on what should have been done differently, and implement what we’ve learned in future decisions. Refusing to do so will lead to an inevitable, detrimental, and irreversible snowball effect. Yet I can’t let my children watch the news, not because of the violence and risk of nightmares, but because I worry that the example that politicians are setting and pundits are echoing and thriving on will surely unravel all of my hard parenting work. How can I explain my policies of playing fair, sharing, no name calling, no hitting, and no lying if my children are watching these elected leaders of our nation break every one of these rules? I would surely come off as quite the hypocrite.
The term “flip flopping” is a prime example of such hypocrisy. Having the courage and wisdom to learn and evolve, to make our parents proud has been given this disparaging title, while the stubborn and close minded refusal to admit to and learn from our mistakes has become common practice in politics. Flip-flopping has become the Republican slang for notions such as learning, reasoning, logic and common sense. They use it to defend their position on never admitting to making a mistake. No matter how badly their plans may go awry, or how destructive their actions may be to our nation, the single most important thing is to stand by their close minded beliefs and devastating reflex reactions because anything else means admitted defeat and bruised egos.
Barak Obama has so far been accused of “flip flopping” on campaign finance and his stance on Iraq. First, he decided it would not be in the best interest of our country to spend $85 million of taxpayer dollars on his campaign when, in fact, he doesn’t need it anyway. Surely, he knows, there are much better ways to spend that money and he will find those ways when he is elected President. But he is flip flopping because while before he believed he would need it to help convince us to elect him and to defend himself against the expensive Republican attacks, he has now LEARNED that he can count solely on his many supportive believers. We believe in his notion of giving this country back to US and I, for one, appreciate his decision to save US that $85 million. “Waste not, want not”, my father always said.
So what is the problem? Is it that it makes John McCain look bad because he has to take this money since his believers aren’t quite so supportive? Nothing could make him look worse than standing side by side and arm in arm with George Bush as he throws all of his support behind McCain. It is an attempt to move towards that campaign finance reform everyone is always talking about but never acting on. But they say “he went back on his word.” I think most of us would agree that those words are not worth $85 million tax dollars. The fact that he had the reasoning and sense to do it in the face of certain attacks is priceless.
Obama is now “flip flopping” on Iraq. He agreed with the Republicans that he should visit Iraq and get an idea of what is going on there before continuing his vow to end the war within 16 months of his term. He acknowledged that circumstances are probably bad beyond his comprehension (this snowball has grown into a full blown avalanche). He also, using reasoning and logic, suggests that any pre-conceived ideas and plans for ending the war will be refined accordingly. This resonates what he has been saying all along “we must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in.”
In a response to this latest attack, Obama defended his consistency saying that he does not intend to lead and act on the basis of pre-conceived notions as the current administration has done, adding, "One of the things I've always tried to do is learn from mistakes and try to get better". This is exactly the notion that Republicans cannot seem to grasp. They insist that the idea that this young, inexperienced kid “flip-flops” on his stance on issues is a serious, even dangerous character flaw. This is how they got John Kerry. Kerry was a flip-flopper because he had the common sense to admit that yes, he did vote in support of the war, but soon realized, as most of us did, that this war was a terrible mistake and we must figure out how to end it as soon as possible.
Yes Obama is inexperienced, but this is part of what many find so appealing about him. His lack of political experience affords him his logic, reasoning and common sense. He still values those early lessons his strong, single mother and loving grandparents instilled in him. These things are an anomaly in politics these days and, particularly on the Right, are not welcomed. I pray that our nation survives the un-confessed mistakes of our leaders. And I pray that my children (and I) survive their own certain mistakes and missteps. I intend to make certain, however, that my children are honest, accept responsibility for their actions and learn from them so as not to repeat them. And I will never accuse them of “flip-flopping” when they do
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Is America Ready for a Black President?
My aunt just sent me an email congratulating me on my candidate winning the democratic nomination. “He deserves it” she says, but follows that up by saying that he is far too liberal for her to vote for, and while she wishes she could vote for him, she doesn’t think that “being black alone is reason enough to vote for anyone.” I couldn’t agree more. But I smile at the irony of this statement, as I am certain that only four years ago when this country proved capable of re-electing George Bush, being black alone would have been reason enough NOT to vote for someone. Now some say he is lucky to be black and in the right place at the right time. My, how far we have come. And we only had to dangle by a thread over rock bottom to get here.
Of course, my father, who has always voted Republican but has promised me he would vote for Barak Obama if he won the nomination (perhaps because he never believed he had a chance) still insists that this country is not ready to elect a black president. He reminds me that there are at least three organizations in our town that do not accept blacks. This, I insist, is precisely why Obama must win. Not because he is a black man, but because he is the first person to cross our deep seeded racial divides and to galvanize people so much so that they see beyond his color and threatening name.
Barak Obama has defied a nation. He stared down the face of a mercilessly ignorant society and somehow saw something he believed in. Something that told him we were ready to get to the heart of the matter, to face our greatest demons and answer some burning questions, and thus, to heal. We CAN learn from our centuries of mistakes, lies, and hypocrisies. We CAN accept that the white men do not have all the answers and do have far too much power! We can face racism head on; acknowledge it, admit to it, discuss it, and even survive it. YES WE CAN! And let’s face it, only a black man raised by white people in a inherently racist country, who was always damned if he did and damned if he didn’t and succeeded in spite of it all, has not only the Audacity of Hope, but the audacity and the right to hold up that mirror in our faces, and to put under a microscope, everything we have been terrified into believing was “right”.
While the media and campaign smear tactics threw us every bone to justify our racist tendencies, we refused to bite (enough of us anyway). We were able to consider the idea that we do not know the depths of our racial divides the way this biracial man does. We appreciate the experience that overcoming these obstacles may play in facing the detrimental class and partisan divides of this country and our world. We trust that the experience he lacks in the debacle that is our government and foreign policies has afforded him a steadfast commitment to and faith in basic human decency. (Anyway, how much experience does one need to make such a mess of things? Can’t his opponents hear the resounding “thank God” and collective sigh of relief every time they mention his lack of political experience?) And finally, we appreciate his genuine desire to forgive and rise above and to help us all do the same.
I recently heard one pundit explaining the generational divide in our country. Speaking of racial inequalities and gay rights, he says “to the younger I generations, it is obvious.” He is right, thank goodness. It is obvious that we are all entitled to equal EVERYTHING. It is obvious that believing otherwise has damaged our society and shamed our reputation in this world. And it is obvious that the ignorant and antiquated views that suggest, or more often demand otherwise have overstayed their welcome and are a fading phenomenon. Barak Obama’s victory is just the exclamation point we needed to reinforce this statement.
I feel for Hillary Clinton’s supporters. I understand what her nomination meant to those women whom are now too bitter to vote for any man of any color. These are the women who remember the days when their kind had no say, or the women who had the right to vote, but whose votes were meant only to echo and reinforce that of their husbands. But those days are long gone. And I, in my thirty two years, have never felt that any man had anything on me. I knew we were ready for a woman President, but I never imagined we were capable of legitimately considering a Barak Hussein Obama. And now I pray that the spite and disappointment of these Clinton supporters does not come at the expense of my children’s future.
I love that Barak Obama is a black man, but it is truly just the chocolate icing on the cake (pun intended in the sweetest way). His nomination represents the leaps and bounds of progress this country has made and speaks volumes of our possibilities and future. This cannot be ignored or denied. But it is his steadfast optimism, faith in our nation, insurmountable voice and vision for our country that feels like the answer to my nightly prayers and pleas for a better world for my children.
I will continue to pray every night that the Good Lord lead us in the right direction. I have made a point of wording it this way rather than to flat out ask that Obama become our president, in an attempt to express my faith in an all-knowing higher power. However, I will not consider it a coincidence if my greatest political wish is the answer to my prayers.
Of course, my father, who has always voted Republican but has promised me he would vote for Barak Obama if he won the nomination (perhaps because he never believed he had a chance) still insists that this country is not ready to elect a black president. He reminds me that there are at least three organizations in our town that do not accept blacks. This, I insist, is precisely why Obama must win. Not because he is a black man, but because he is the first person to cross our deep seeded racial divides and to galvanize people so much so that they see beyond his color and threatening name.
Barak Obama has defied a nation. He stared down the face of a mercilessly ignorant society and somehow saw something he believed in. Something that told him we were ready to get to the heart of the matter, to face our greatest demons and answer some burning questions, and thus, to heal. We CAN learn from our centuries of mistakes, lies, and hypocrisies. We CAN accept that the white men do not have all the answers and do have far too much power! We can face racism head on; acknowledge it, admit to it, discuss it, and even survive it. YES WE CAN! And let’s face it, only a black man raised by white people in a inherently racist country, who was always damned if he did and damned if he didn’t and succeeded in spite of it all, has not only the Audacity of Hope, but the audacity and the right to hold up that mirror in our faces, and to put under a microscope, everything we have been terrified into believing was “right”.
While the media and campaign smear tactics threw us every bone to justify our racist tendencies, we refused to bite (enough of us anyway). We were able to consider the idea that we do not know the depths of our racial divides the way this biracial man does. We appreciate the experience that overcoming these obstacles may play in facing the detrimental class and partisan divides of this country and our world. We trust that the experience he lacks in the debacle that is our government and foreign policies has afforded him a steadfast commitment to and faith in basic human decency. (Anyway, how much experience does one need to make such a mess of things? Can’t his opponents hear the resounding “thank God” and collective sigh of relief every time they mention his lack of political experience?) And finally, we appreciate his genuine desire to forgive and rise above and to help us all do the same.
I recently heard one pundit explaining the generational divide in our country. Speaking of racial inequalities and gay rights, he says “to the younger I generations, it is obvious.” He is right, thank goodness. It is obvious that we are all entitled to equal EVERYTHING. It is obvious that believing otherwise has damaged our society and shamed our reputation in this world. And it is obvious that the ignorant and antiquated views that suggest, or more often demand otherwise have overstayed their welcome and are a fading phenomenon. Barak Obama’s victory is just the exclamation point we needed to reinforce this statement.
I feel for Hillary Clinton’s supporters. I understand what her nomination meant to those women whom are now too bitter to vote for any man of any color. These are the women who remember the days when their kind had no say, or the women who had the right to vote, but whose votes were meant only to echo and reinforce that of their husbands. But those days are long gone. And I, in my thirty two years, have never felt that any man had anything on me. I knew we were ready for a woman President, but I never imagined we were capable of legitimately considering a Barak Hussein Obama. And now I pray that the spite and disappointment of these Clinton supporters does not come at the expense of my children’s future.
I love that Barak Obama is a black man, but it is truly just the chocolate icing on the cake (pun intended in the sweetest way). His nomination represents the leaps and bounds of progress this country has made and speaks volumes of our possibilities and future. This cannot be ignored or denied. But it is his steadfast optimism, faith in our nation, insurmountable voice and vision for our country that feels like the answer to my nightly prayers and pleas for a better world for my children.
I will continue to pray every night that the Good Lord lead us in the right direction. I have made a point of wording it this way rather than to flat out ask that Obama become our president, in an attempt to express my faith in an all-knowing higher power. However, I will not consider it a coincidence if my greatest political wish is the answer to my prayers.
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