Then I go to my brother
And I say brother help me please
But he winds up knocking me
Back down on my knees

There been times that I thought I couldn’t last for long
But now I think I’m able to carry on
It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

Sam Cooke (1964)

I never thought that I’d actually talk about the presidential election on this blog. It’s really not my style. After Barack Obama won the election, I had a restored faith in humanity (which was nearly lost when Prop 8 passed, but that’s a different blog altogether), but also a fear of what’s to come. It’s not a fear about what kind of job he’s going to do. No one knows. One of the dumbest things I continue to hear from the McCain backers is, “Beware of what you wished for.” Beware of what? The future? No one knows what’s going to happen. No one knows exactly what type of president Obama is going to become. The time where, “Beware of what you wished for,” would’ve made any sense was when George Bush was re-elected, because we knew exactly what he was about. And yet, he was re-elected.

Who I fear are us.

Let me retrace my steps a bit. The only reason I decided to even write about this is because Brian came home and told me that many of his classmates thought that the only reason Obama won the election is because he’s Black, as if what he accomplished means nothing. And where do these kids get this? Well, probably from their parents, just random rhetoric that they hear on TV, or whomever else they hear these things from. And yes, the kids go to a conservative Christian private school, so I’m not surprised that Obama’s election wasn’t welcomed with open arms. But what I told the kids is that no one can take anything away from what Obama has accomplished. I also told them that this is a lesson in humanity and race relations and that now, children of color (which they are) can look back on this historic election and not worry about being laughed at if they one day hope to become president of the United States. I told them about Jackie Robinson who broke the color barrier in baseball and had to withstand pure hate in order to stand for what he believed in. In a sense, Obama is very much like Jackie Robinson. He’s going to be under the largest microscope for a president ever and it’s mostly because of his skin color. He’s going to have to stand up to racism, hate, and everything else you could possibly think of, just because he’s half Black. He will have to be much better than other presidents who were considered good, just like Jackie. If Jackie was a terrible baseball player, his cause would’ve been lost.

Photo by Allison Harger shared via creative commons

During the debates, and all the media surrounding the debates, I was so surprised at how many small racial things made it through. The fact that people still allow color and equality get in the way of their thoughts and views doesn’t surprise me. But the fact that on America’s biggest stage, these things still got through did. However, I’m very glad that it didn’t become THE story. And I think we can thank George Bush for that.

The reason Obama’s campaign was so successful in my opinion is because he promised change. And McCain couldn’t. Obama represented a different view, a different set of eyes. McCain represented more of the same. Was it fair? Probably not. But that’s what 8 years of bad leadership does. Who knows if Obama is going to be good or bad at his job? But we were willing to give him a chance because we knew what the flip side was. We saw it for 8 years. Beware of what you wish for? We didn’t wish for what we already had to deal with.

It was important for me to tell Brian and JJ how I felt about what their classmates thought. As a parent, you want to be the premier influence in your kids’ lives. Brian and JJ will take what I said, probably regurgitate it in some manner, but will look at it in an entirely different way than many of their classmates. And maybe they’ll teach some of their classmates about how insensitive and wrong those kinds of statements are.

I’m not the dude who is going to sit there and pretend I know everything there is to know about politics. I’m not the dude who sat there on Facebook and showed a ton of enthusiasm for Obama. It wasn’t a war. It was a popularity contest. And I think the reason Obama won had just as much to do with being the anti-Bush, as it did with his charisma, believability, and trustworthiness. McCain played it a little differently. He didn’t really have a choice. It is just who he is. During the debates, I felt that he was way too defensive and reactionary and didn’t really control the stage. And when you see that, you wonder if that’s how it’s going to be in the White House. There was also this bit that worried me when it came to communication. You had Obama who stated that nation leaders needed to talk and figure out a way to resolve things. McCain was a shoot first ask questions last kind of guy and based on his background, it’s not surprising. And when it comes down to it, the majority doesn’t want war. They want peace, or as much peace as is possible. The shoot first ask questions last mentality might’ve worked in gangster rap music in the mid 90s, but I’m not so sure it works today. If this same election happened 20 years ago, McCain probably wins in a landslide. But in 2008, we’re a different group altogether.

As much as I fear how ugly America may be with Obama in the White House, I’m definitely proud that it happened. He’s not a token. He won because of who he is, and probably just as importantly, who he isn’t. If he fails, I’ll be the first one to say that he failed. But I’m glad he has the chance. We gave him the chance bring forth change. United we stand, divided we fall. I think people need to really understand what that means.

It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will