This is my Mom.
She, and my Dad taught me and my brother a thing or two about hope and reality and the content of our characters. I should note that they taught this by example. And therein lies...
a tale.
But this diary is about what I would say to my Mom if she were still with me. And to Daddy if he were. And to my brilliant brother if we were still in contact (who knows, he may already know)...when I hear folks talk about 'voting for a Black man'.
Mind you, I'm glad that they will.
I'm just kind of looking out loud at my own reaction to the statement.
So, here's the thing, Ma-ma: I'm on the computer, probably too much:-). And I've been reading some essays that talk about experiences that Obama supporters and Clinton supporters have had, as they...as we work to the best of our ability, to support our candidate of choice.
And try to stay reasonable.
You weren't around for that Howard Dean guy, the one who inspired me to get involved and stay involved. Well, he took over the Democratic Party with the power of all of us at his back. He made some radical, obvious, and effective changes. And now a lot of the folks who started their time in politics decades ago with hope, and slid into some other morass along the way, have either found new hope and courage to change things (first the Party, then the country), or found themselves somewhat sidelined. Some of them are very bitter, as you can imagine. It's one human reaction, and no surprise. But he's very patient and effective, and showing us how to be so, in this difficult situation. So I believe they'll come along with us when they see that we will work hard to create a sane, progressive America.
And that a sane, progressive America actually does mean a deeply better America. For everyone.
What was I saying? Oh yes, so, my journey to becoming an Obama supporter started with finding out about him from the first Dean Dozen, and went on from there. The point I want to make, that I think you would understand immediately, is that my support is for this particular Black man. It's not for 'a Black man', like 'any Black man', although I understand why people use that shorthand for the major change this symbolizes.
I support Sen. Obama because of his fervor for effective, principled community organizing (after all, what is the US but a big community full of communities!), and his passion for Constitutional law (Rep. Barbara Jordan is smiling somewhere!), and his ability to hold the love and respect of Michelle Obama (with whom I share a birthday, a culture, and in many ways, a worldview) and the fact that he seems to truly believe, from deep down, that Americans can work together and overcome stuff that, Mom, you would just ache to know about, having hope for this country, as you and Daddy did. And I hope that he will move the lobbyists to where they belong in our political discourse: with exactly the same influence that I have, one single American vote. One single American voice.
The fact that he is Black American, the fact that his run is historic, is of course not lost on me, not at all. I think it's a giant teachable moment in our history, and I am proud that we've come far enough. I love the diversity in the crowds, and the pundits reacting from way behind the times, as most of them do. By their presence and who they are, Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama jumpstart conversations that we have needed to bring to the surface in America, to look at carefully and with compassion and speaking truth to each other. At our best, this is what Democrats do.
I'm just looking at my own reaction: the fact that he is Black American is icing on a supercake. And, in fact, if I were a supporter of Sen. Clinton in the primary, the fact that she is a woman would be icing on a supercake. When it comes to Presidents, who must lead by example and by savvy and with spirit and courage, my first issue is: who is this person and how do they navigate through the world - what is the vision of America that they want to serve/lead us towards? Once I learn enough about the person that feel that I understand their vision and can get behind it, I do just that, knowing that it's going to be a very long haul...
So, Sen. Obama is my choice because of who he is, and of course, being a Black American is part of that. You can't separate it, and I didn't when I was making my choice. But this doesn't mean that I would support any Black person, because they're Black, or any woman, because she is a woman. No.
The content of their character is first among equal reasons, for me.
And I have you to thank for making sure of that.