|
When I was a child of 12, I am now hitting 51, I remembered a documentary I watched about the life, vision and message of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. From that day on he became my hero. A man who expressed my own, then inarticulate, passion for equality. With the measure of the individual based on character not on skin color.
It was and continues to be an ideal that has carried me into these times of Obama as President. Yes, it is an "historical moment" but please consider this:
His election was not created in a vacuum
When the plane recently went down in New York and landed in the Hudson River...Kitty Higgivo from the National Transportation Safety Board made this public statement:
"Miracles happen because a lot of everyday things happen for years and years."
No lives were lost in this unfortunate but not fatal accident - because the pilot was prepared.
So it is in our nations recent election. Obama was accepted by a vast majority of all races...including whites. His success is a result of the culmination of consistent steps. We are a country that has come to a place in history...where equality is supported by the majority.
"It's a result of everyday things happening for years and years."
So, can we now throw away the race card? Can you black folks give us white folks a little credit by believing that most of us stand in your/our camp? That individually we understand the "dream" and it stirs our hearts as much as it does yours?
If you don't believe that - just take a look at the new President of These United States! Replay the "joy" expressed on the faces of those who gathered on the Nations Capital. Recall the represented slice of a country, in celebration...from every imigrated tribe and culture - including and certianly not limited to us whites.
Is there still work to be done...of course. When "we" elect a Lesbian President I know we will have truly arrived! But until then...I believe we all owe one another the "benefit of the doubt" when it comes to our daily encounters. WE have earned it!
|
