I don't know why but I never anticipated the gravity of the moment to come. I rooted for, debated for, volunteered for, and donated to Obama -and then Obama/Biden. Obama's race never came to the forefront in my mind accept when I thought there was racism at play.
Now, all of a sudden, I'm struck by the fact WE HAVE JUST ELECTED A BLACK MAN AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!
How did I miss this? Why am I all of a sudden trying to hold back tears which I NEVER anticipated? I saw dozens of people, black & White, on t.v. crying...I even saw Colin Powell crying. And all I could do was empathize. How could I have missed this coming? Am i just a dumb white guy?
I'm a Middle Aged, White, Jewish, Lefty who represents indigent defendants at the federal level. I have always been acutely aware, and ashamed, of America's clinging to our racist attitudes. I have always felt so ashamed of this "American Attribute." That no matter what we preached, at home or abroad, we lived in a racist country. Surely, we do better and better as the years go by. Yet, at the end of the day, there is no denying that we treat our minority brothers and sisters in a shameful manner.
When addressing the shortcomings of our country's treatment of Blacks, MLK stated the following in his "I have a Dream Speech:
In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
In listening to the above, on too many occasions, I have always thought King's demands would be met too far into the future. That I wouldn't live to see a day when race was something which would permanently be relegated to the history books.
I'm no fool, I know that racism is still much apart of our nation's fabric. The inequalities and the institutionalism of racism loom large. Yet, today, I find myself holding back tears. I'm so proud of America. I'm so proud that her people, of all races and creeds, voted with a degree of color blindness.
I feel like I'm living in a historic and defining moment. A very acute moment - it was at 11PM, EST, that I realized Holly Shit we have made ourselves proud and started to arch back to the great ideals of this country's founders. I'm so proud. I love that I can now be seen by the world as an American whose president is black and named, much to my glee, Barack (yes) Hussein Obama. That we have started to deliver, possibly in earnest, on what King so eloquently demanded.
As I saw people crying in joy, all I could think (even as that Middle Aged, Jewish, White Guy) was how much I too felt absolute joy in the acute arrival of such a proud and promising moment. A moment which said "yes, Americans are shedding, in earnest their darkest of virtues."
How could I have not seen this coming? Maybe I was just a scared little kid afraid the "a moment" wouldn't come. Maybe I was afraid to dream. Yet, last night, as Obama took the stage in Chicago, I sat slack jawed, all teary eyed and shit, as I suddenly realized the proudest of American historical moments was flashing before me.