As I have stated before, if the Democratic Party nominated a candidate that had a consistent position against the Iraq War, I would stand with that candidate. And while I am certainly not John Edwards, Al Gore, or even a lesser Superdelegate that you can add to Barack Obama’s column, I humbly declare that I am endorsing Barack Obama for the next President of the United States.
This marks a major turning point in my young political life. While I have tried to delete several of the previous entries that I have written here, it appears that they are archived. Even if they weren’t, I think I’ll leave this one up, for I am proud of who I am and what I believe. Thus, any dream that I ever had of saving the Republican Party from their misguided ways appears to be down the drain (I keep having this image of Hannity asking me if I ever wrote on DailyKos and voted Obama).
With a few exceptions, I grew up in a family of strong Republicans. My wife, who also recently left the Republican Party shares a similar past (which even includes a former Republican U.S. Senator). While my wife is a true progressive who realized that she was in the wrong party, I have struggled immensely with where I belong. However, after carefully considering my options, I have decided that I do not have to sacrifice any belief I have to vote for Barack Obama in November. In fact, this is not the time for petty philosophical arguments regarding liberal and conservative. This is time for the very real decision between the past and the future.
For me personally, there are three major appeals of the Obama campaign. First, as mentioned above, we must not only move toward putting the Iraq War behind us, but we must put the thinking that got us there behind us as well. While being naive is used as a slur against all who do not believe we should be in Iraq forever, there was no decision in recent history more naive than believing we would be greeted as liberators when entering Iraq.
Second, Barack Obama realized that in order to get anything done (anywhere in life), you must build a coalition that is wider than the traditional base that shares all of your views. As I mentioned, I continue to disagree with Obama on many points. But what is refreshing about this campaign is that we can not only accept this fact, we welcome it and embrace it. I have never felt anything but welcomed by those supporting Barack Obama.
However, the third reason I am supporting Barack Obama is both personal and painful, as I am sure it is for many of you here. If it wasn’t for the brave story that Keith Olberman shared with Rachel Maddow and Eugene Robinson in March following Obama’s speech on race, I don’t believe I would be able to share mine with you today:
"And one night, I was nine years old, my parents were out to dinner, he (grandfather) was baby sitting me, television‘s on, and, you know, the middle of Hawaii Five-O or (INAUDIBLE) et cetera, whatever the show was, on comes the news bulletin from Memphis, Martin Luther King assassinated. And my grandfather who was a good man says, why did they interrupt my show to tell me about some "N" word getting shot?
And it went right through me because I know who Martin Luther King was, you know, I was like nine, and now, I knew about my grandfather. I can‘t talk to him about race relations and if we start talking who is the best ball player, Willie Mays or Mickey Mantle? I can‘t trust his answer. But I didn‘t love him any less and I couldn‘t throw him under a bus somewhere."
As Obama stated, racism is not always motivated by pure hatred. Sometimes it is ignorance. More likely, it is nothing more than fear. But what ever its motives, my eyes have been opened to the fact that racism must die for America to survive. There is nothing that represents past ways of thinking that must be pushed aside for the future more than racism. But it is not dead yet.
There is a member of my family, whom we remain close with, who is racist. There is no other way about it. We remained in denial for many years, as it could rationally be dismissed as joking or political incorrectness. But when Barack Obama began to run for President, we began to see their feelings for what they really were.
The first time we discussed the campaign, in March of 2007, my wife expressed the fact that she was considering Obama. "He is absolutely nothing more than a black activist," this individual said. "The country will not go for a Black Muslim". I found these statements odd, as this person was a medical doctor who was by no means lacking education. Did he not know about Obama’s true past? Or was it that he was afraid to know? That he didn’t want to know? That he couldn’t know or his small world of superiority over others would begin to crumble. I said nothing.
When Obama began to win primaries, and it looked increasingly likely that he would be the nominee, the comments increased. This individual began to make up racist Obama jokes. "Did you hear Obama wants to replace Hamilton on the $10 bill?" he would ask. "No, I didn’t hear that", was the typical response accompanied by an eye roll. "Yes, he has decided to replace him with Eddie Murphy". Jokes like these continued, as well as rude comments against my wife for her support for Obama in the Ohio primary.
The tipping point was last weekend at a wedding for our friend. This individual was also invited and at first, behaved rather well. But for some reason, they felt compelled to begin telling Obama jokes to another one of our friends. "I guess this is a good time to tell you I’m working for Obama!" she said. Rather than quitting and realizing he had been put in his place, he continued. "Did you hear Obama announced he will appoint Michael Jordan as Secretary of Defense?" he asked. At this point, I became enraged and worked to end the conversation. As we were walking away, I made an attempt to apologize to our friend. However, I feel the damage may have been done.
I was so depressed the next day at work, for my eyes were opened to a part America that I never wanted to acknowledge. While many in my generation embrace Obama, I realized that racism remains with us. We have never fully addressed in as a nation. Furthermore, I realized we too often have not addressed it in our own families.
I have considered addressing it directly in this particular instance, and I have decided that this person has one more chance. But I have also realized that the most productive approach for them and for all others like them is to work for the nomination of Barack Obama. I want nothing more than for every racist in this country to be forced to stare at Barack and Michelle occupying the White House for the next four years. And until they change (or I change it), I will never be a part of a Republican Party that uses the fear of Blacks, Gays, Mexicans and Muslims as a justification for election.
If this is a depressing diary I sincerely apologize. I’m sure that most people who join the campaign felt inspired by Obama more than they felt enraged by the small minded thoughts of others. But whatever the motive may be I’M IN. Whatever the future may bring I’M IN. Whatever they may say about Obama, I’M IN. For this election is truly not about Obama or McCain. It is about us and who we will be. If we decide to make foreign policy decisions based on logic rather than fear I’M IN. If we choose to listen to one another rather than hate one another I’M IN. And if we decide once and for all that we cannot be America if we do not overcome our tragic past I’M IN.
Peace.