I was ten months old but living only a few blocks away from the Lincoln Memorial the day a quarter of a million civil rights protesters most famously marched on Washington. My dad had walked over to the Mall early so by the afternoon, feeling guilty about leaving my mom alone with a howling baby, he headed home to keep her company and so missed hearing what is generally considered to be the greatest speech of this century.
Nevertheless, as the first generation of black kids to grow up post segregation, when Dr. King spoke of, "little black boys and little black girls," joining hands with "little white boys and little white girls," I grew up assuming that he was talking about me. Growing up in the 70s and weaned on p.c., multi-cultural propaganda like Zoom and The Electric Company, I saw the whole world as one big rainbow coalition and figured King's dream would be realized before I graduated high school.
Instead, the 1980s brought Ronald Reagan railing against "welfare queens." I put King's dream on hold and although I had been raised in mainly white neighborhoods all my life, I opted to stay in the black-theme house, Ujamaa, at Stanford.
I'm a year younger than Senator Obama and I'm sure, like the Senator, have memorized most all of Reverend King's speech, but oddly, I don't think I ever seriously contemplated the possibility of being elected President of the United States.
Don't get me wrong, I've had other very grand dreams and already realized many of them (I've still got time for my Pulitzer, my Nobel and a date with Angelina Jolie).
Where we differ is that after the 80s I don't think I ever had enough faith in the colorblind goodwill of mainstream America to elect me President.
My childhood dream of writing the Great American Novel was something I could strive for on my own. It wasn't predicated on the cooperation of the non-black masses.
So I am awed by Obama's chutzpah and thrilled by the legions of non-blacks seemingly eager to hand him the keys to the kingdom.
I must also add what seems to be talked about much less often in the mainstream media: Hillary Clinton's possible election as Commander-in-Chief would be every bit as remarkable. Either event would be as momentous in the history of this nation as landing a man on the moon.
Not only am I a black man but more importantly I am the father of a little boy AND a little girl. The fact that both of these campaigns threaten to fulfill King's dream and open up vistas for both of the most important people in my life makes me love this country even more and believe even more -- or perhaps again -- in the possibility of its promise.
Look, perhaps neither one of them will get to the mountaintop but I am grateful to both senators for rediscovering a trail that I had feared lost.
So whatever happens in 2008, get ready for 2048. My kids are so smart and so charming and so capable that you'd be nuts not to vote for them . My six-year-old son already says "Hello!" and charms everybody he passes. It's like he's already running for office.
(FYI, my new book, "Bedtime Stories: Adventures in the Land of Single-Fatherhood," comes out in February.)
As a white woman of the same age, I too never considered that any woman or African-American could be President, especially after Reagan. I didn't think American's were ready for either.
And look where we are today. America is starving for the diversity. It is such a momentous time in our history and I hope both sides appreciate what it means to many people, old and young.
Oh, by the way, I too have a six year old, a daughter... She's smart and independant. Someday perhaps, our children, will meet, at a debate, telling the world what contribution each could make. And then, you and I will watch proudly, from the lobbies of our respective nursing homes. Kidding, I'm raising my kids to believe that taking mommy in is part of it...
Anyway, thank you for your positive and uplifting article.
There will always be people who come along and make use of the anger and bad feelings and bad luck that are always present in our lives. Reagan was one of them. People like that always put the cause of mankind in retreat.
People like King try to call on our better angels, and they always push us forward.
Never think that America is not a wonderful place just because the media and the politicians of the day are exploiting the bad luck or bad feelings that people may have at the time. We do live in a remarkable country. And I'm very proud to see our top three candidates representing the movement toward social and economic justice. It's a good time to remember what it means to be an American.
What does he stand for? What has he accomplished?
He was in the game TWO YEARS when he decided he was the most
qualified person to lead America - that doesn't seem egotistical to you?
Hillary has eight years in the White House and seven in the senate and some
people claim she's not qualified, so how does Obama clear that hurdle?
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Hillary abandoned one of Kings dreams by supporting the war.
Hillary's support for DLC policies harms Kings other dream for an end to poverty.
Yes, she's a woman, but Kings dream was bigger and you're selling him short by giving her a pass.
I do not understand why would any union endorce her candidacy when her chief campaign strategist, Mark Penn is the CEO of a PR firm (Burson-Marsteller) that is known for its union busting tactics. That same firm also can count among its illustrious client lists Blakwater's CEO. How progressive of her.
Electing a woman would not end sexism nor would electing a black man end racism. Even Pakistan managed to elect a woman and we know how that turned out for women. She went to bed with the fundies to survive and never impacted a single change that benefited women.
The Democratic party owes the world a good president to cleanse the world from the lingering Bush/Cheny stench. Make a smart choice because your choice can impact the world.
Hillary '08!
Here is the thing. It is only Hillary's gender that indicates any movement forward. Many, many women have said they are supporting her because she is a woman. Everything else about her would mean going backwards. She still has the same old flawed foreign policy that has resulted in increasing terror attacks on this country. She still has the same old advisors FP advisors that supported invading Iraq. She still spouts the same old tired Dem rhetoric that is all about blaming and hating the Republicans and deifying Democrats. Most of all, she is still employing the same old nasty kind of divisive politics (even within the Dem primary) that has prevented any movement on a progressive majority in decades. If you actually listen to the Clintons, you can see why they were such a divisive force in our politics in the 90s.
By contrast, Obama - and forgive me my black-skinned friends - but with Obama, his skin color is secondary to the change he will bring to America. I don't support Obama to put a black man in the White House. I support him for a host of other changes to the way we do politics that Obama would bring. And he practices what he preaches.
While Hillary throws out red meat to her base and her special interest groups, Obama tells us all that we are all responsible and we must all take part in the solution. While Hillary says "the Republicans lied to me" Obama says "the case for war was not made." While the Clintons are out there pushing the fear-mongering narrative that "Latinos will not vote for a black man" Obama is in a church talking about unity.
The number of pigment cells per sq. in in one's skin, and the configuration of one's genitals are, in the end, not really very important to progress. It's separating us by these minor differences that Hillary is trying to achieve.
It's uniting us through our shared goals and struggles that Obama hopes to achieve.
I am a white woman in my fifties. The media would categorize me as Hillary's demographic but Obama's speeches move me to tears because they are so awe-inspiring. Besides his programs and inclusiveness (I have 2 twenty-something daughters), I am concerned by our worsening economy. I listened to my mother tell me about the depression in the 30's. At that time this country had an inspiring and wise leader who helped pull the country together and healed the economic condition for many people (FDR). That's why I think we need both Obama and Edwards now. To help the ENTIRE country throughout this world.
Obama/Edwards '08 or Edwards/Obama '08
If we are voting for Hillary Clinton because she is a woman, or because she is a woman who is not acceptable/unacceptable to men, or because it is high time for a woman to be president, or because she is deemed electable/unelectable by pundits, etc... then you are voting for her for mostly the wrong reasons and Dr. King's dream is far from being realized.
We need to vote for the one who we sincerely believe is the person best qualified to be our next president. Only then can we say with confidence that Dr. King's dream is close to being realized.
Now ask yourself which candidate is able to bring people together and build that majority? That is the question we should be asking ourselves because even the most experienced person in the Presidency will not be able to get anything done unless they have a Congress that wants to work with them.
Think back to Bill's presidency and you will understand what I mean. I believe Obama is the ONLY candidate capable of building that majority because we have already seen it happening in the election.
If we waste this opportunity then we may never see it again and we might as well hand the power right back over to corrupt Republicans now and get it over with. Please people THINK.