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This is a Truly Historic Moment; Let's Savor It
As a historian, I am painfully aware of how overused the term "historic" is. But what we are witnessing right now and throughout this presidential election year is the very definition of the word.
For all intents and purposes, Barack Obama has won the Democratic presidential nomination.
Consider the stunning symbolism of the following two chronological parallels:
Senator Obama will give his acceptance speech on August 28, the forty-fifth anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.
Assuming he wins in November (which, with 81% of Americans believing the nation has "pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track" and Republican candidate John McCain wanting to keep going in that direction, is very likely), Obama will be inaugurated less than three weeks before Abraham Lincoln's two-hundredth birthday.
The symbolism of the first major party African-American presidential nominee accepting his party's endorsement on the day when King, four-and-a-half decades earlier, had called on the nation to fulfill its long-deferred ideals, and of the first African-American president being inaugurated less than a month before the nation celebrates the bicentennial of the "Great Emancipator" should be enough to bring tears to the eyes of even hardened political cynics.
But the deep historical significance of what is currently happening goes even farther. As we reach the end of the Democratic nomination struggle, more than 16 million Americans have voted for a candidate from a category of Americans who were not allowed to vote for the first thirteen decades of the Republic. More than 16 million others have voted for a candidate from a category of Americans who were only assured to the right to vote four decades ago.
America has always been both an ideal and a reality, and the reality has never matched the ideal. It never will.
In 2008, the 232nd year since Thomas Jefferson proclaimed as America's ideal the radical concept that "all men are created equal" and the 221st since the Founding Fathers set out "to form a more perfect union," we are making significant moves in the direction of treating all men and women equally and forming a less imperfect union.
We will never fully reach the ideal of America, but we are closer today than ever before to fulfilling what progressive intellectual and New Republic founder Herbert Croly referred to in 1909 as "The Promise of American Life." The immense support for both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries marks a partial -- but substantial -- acceptance of the greatest ideal envisioned (but certainly not practiced) by the imperfect men who started the American experiment and formed our imperfect union: genuinely equal rights and opportunities for all people.
In the midst of all the problems the nation and world face today, when it often seems like the only sort of news that exists is bad news, we ought to give this genuinely historic moment its due. Let us pause and savor it.
Robert S. McElvaine is Elizabeth Chisholm Professor of Arts & Letters and chair of the history department at Millsaps College. His latest book, Grand Theft Jesus: The Hijacking of Religion in America has just been published by Crown.
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I'm one of those old white grannies who supports Obama, the best thing that has happend during this long long elections process is that so many young people who once only voiced their displeasure with our government, are finally getting motivated and involved, they give me hope for the future of my nine grandchildren, and a renewed hope for our country so willifully destroyed by George Bush and Dick Cheney. We will once again go back to honoring our Constitution, it won't be easy, because we all know the old guard in the GOPand some Democrats, will be spewing hatred just to keep the status quo, it's up to everyone who want to take this country back from those who have spent so much time taking from the poor and middle class. It's time to take care of US, we can help other countries, but we can no longer afford to be the policeman of the world, or the ruler. There are many other countries in this world who are both economically and politically as strong as us, we cannot place all of those tasks onto one society. This may sound like a pipe dream, but after the last eight years, I don't know about you but I'm ready for a really good dream of what we can become in the future instead of what we have become in the past.
My son just turned 18 and I told him how special it was that the first time he will ever vote he will be able to vote for the first black POTUS.
How great for him!
For all intents and purposes, the Demos will have made a pretty grand gesture
in the annals of presidential elections, no matter who gets the nomination.
Historically, 43 white, male Presidents, in a row.
And for #44... What to do?
What to DO?
Not to rain on the parade, here, but approximately 50% of the Dermocratic party voted for the other candidate. HIllary's supporters, myself among them, are both very loyal to her and quite skeptical of Mr. Obama. He'll have to do plenty in the coming months to convince us to gamble on him. For the sake of America, I hope he's up to the challenge. I'm waiting to see before I decide what to do with my vote.
Gamble? That's funny. Go ahead and vote for McCain...sore loser racist.
Becuase he doesn't like obama doesn't mean that he is a racist. lets stop the fighting and come together, this isn't a gamble this is historic and happening now, lets try to be on the correct side of hisstory and not on the side that wants to kill progression and give power to divison!
Spoken like a true Right Wing pundit.
I know sentiments run high on both sides leading up to the Democratic convention. A lot of people on both sides are saying that if their candidate isn't chosen, they will vote for McCain or not vote. I think that as soon as a candidate is chosen and a few days have passed for the emotions to settle, almost all will realize that we can't elect a man who now says he wants to see Roe v Wade overturned, that is fine with staying in Iraq for 100 years, who wants to see tax cuts to the rich made permanent, who basically represents four more years of the Bush policies. Honestly, neither Barack nor Hillary were my first choice; but every Democrat that ran is orders of magnitude better for this country than McCain. So jeffers1961, keep your loyalty to Hillary as long as she is in the race. But no matter who the Democratic candidate is, think about what is best for this country and get out and work to defeat McCain. I will do the same.
jeffers1961,
I think Sen Obama has more than proven his mettle during this long, and often dirty primary campaign season. I used to be a Hillary supporter until about mid-March or so when Bill and others in their camp started slinging cheap shots and falsehoods all over the place about Sen Obama. And yes, I share your opinion that electing him will indeed be a gamble; but isn't that the case with every new president we elect ? Obama's youth and relative inexperience at the national level may well turn out to be assets rather than liabilites, unless you want more of the gridlock and corruption that we've been subjected to for far too long.
Any democrat that goes and reads John McCain's positions will come back to the Dems.
McCain wants to put right wing conservative judges on the Supreme Court. Two judges are about to retire soon, both are in their late 70's or early 80's now. Two conservative judges that McCain has said he'll put on the bench would be enough to overturn Roe v. Wade. They would outlaw all forms of abortion, even those that are necessary to save the life of the mother. They'll give the executive branch even more power than it has under Bush.
McCain will drive the deficit to insane amounts with his tax breaks to the rich and the corporations. It's been estimated that his plans so far would amount to $3 trillion being added to the national debt. The interest alone on that debt (which would be over $12 trillion overall) would be crushing on our economy. He's idol is Ronald Reagan, who's economics drove the national debt up to where it was 3x as high when he left office than when he went in.
"America has always been both an ideal and a reality, and the reality has never matched the reality. It never will."
??
A mis-? "Ideal" instead of "reality" at the 13th word?
Good post. I hope Obama's gamble on the American people works in the fall.
This is what makes me proud of America!
God bless
Nice sentiment.
However, I don't think your emphasis on race and gender is where the focus should be.
The ideological shift is far more relevant for most Americans, and the world.
Consider, when was the last time big money wasn't deciding who we could vote for?
Actual citizen participation was made possible by technology, and the few no longer have a monopoly on power.
That's historic.
Exactly! This election is led by the people. Even the media's unfairness in covering the candidates didn't seem to affect voters's judgment much.
You are right. There is another article today, about Harvey Weinstein alleging trying to bully Nancy Pelosi. I wanted to say somethhing similar there but the comments don't seem to be working. Sen. Obama's campaign would have been impossible even in 2004 and it would have nothing to do with his skin colour. Through the Internet the world is escaping the domination of Rupert Murdoch and his ilk. People can have unmediated access to information and more importantly they are actually taking advantage of that. Sen. Obama is showing to other politicians through his fund raising methods the way to escape the tentacles of big business so they can act in the interests of the American people instead.
To me it calls to mind Martin Luther translating the Bible and telling people they didn't have to depend on priests to explain it.
Power to the people. O frabjous day!
finally some perspective after a dark, few weeks. we are on the verge.
To me - Obama is all talk and fine feeling - short on performance -------- people seem to love him for what he 'is' rather than what he might actually 'do' ------- well - looks like he's got it - the primary is just step one - big challenge ahead - hope he can unify and attract hillary's supporters and gain a voting base that can win in a general election. we have a lot riding on him doing that. Buena Fortuna
:)
I'm so so happy to be a witness to history....truly amazing...
Obama managed a wonderful campaign....the largest $$$ donation for the primary...the largest donor base...the largest grassroots organization. in history..also powerful oratorial skills...meaningful speeches....core message of changing the old politics....and importantly reminding everyone what politics should be about......US....
Beautifully written - and so true...I was actually talking about that with my partner last night. What an amazing moment in time. It's nice to be able to be proud of (most of) America again! It's been a while.
"We are the ones we have been waiting for!"
Another date to bear in mind: a President-elect Obama would observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 19, 2009--one day before the inauguration.
AMEN.
What a marvelous thought. Obama will change the views this world has of us now for the better.
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