Congratulations Barack Obama, president-elect. I freely admit I did not vote for you. I am white; but that was not why. I am male; but that is not why. I am young; but that is not why. I am a member of the middle class; but that is not why. I am christian; but that is not why. None of these personal characteristics are why I did not vote for you. I did not vote for you because your vision, beliefs, and proposed policies did not best mirror mine and the direction for which I hope our country to follow. This is the only reason I did not vote for you. And had our views mirrored, I would have voted for you. And that would have been the only reason I would have voted for you.
That being said, I understand why so many have heralded this appointment an historic achievement. The U.S.A. will now have an african american president. The same United States of America that only 50 years ago, viewed african americans as second class citizens. Truly, we have come a long way. But by no means have we come all the way. And my true fear is that we never will. So much was made of race during this campaign. Barack Obama would have to overcome being "black" to win the presidency. He would have to sway white voters. And he did; mission accomplished. Congratulations U.S.A. on being diversified, accepting, and equitable.
Or perhaps not? Yes, Obama swayed many white voters to vote for him. Hopefully because those white voters views mirrored those of Mr. Obama. This would indeed support the case that race is no longer a barrier in America. However, I find it deeply disturbing that upwards of 90% of african american voters voted for Barack. This shows me that race is indeed a factor, more so than ever. In an election where the difference in popularity among the entire public differed less than 5 points, the difference in popularity between candidates among african american voters was 80 points. It doesn't take a statistical guru to realize there is a significant variance there. In fact, more registered democrats voted against Barack Obama, than did african american voters. Are we to believe that african americans as a group overwhelmingly mirror Senator Obama's views, more than the political party that endorses those views? Fahgettaboutit. The variance there can only be attributed to a large portion of the african american voting population basing their decision solely on Obama's race. This practice is distinctly parallel with the practice of segregation that Senator Obama's appointment is supposed to be extinguishing. Because white voting populations vote for a candidate regardless of race does not mean we are not segregated. Only when all voting populations, african americans included, vote for a candidate regardless of race will we effectively be a communal population. 90% vs. 10% is nowhere near this ideal state. And when this occurs, african american vote, white vote, hispanic vote will not be a statistic; they will be unequivocally insignificant. Popular vote will be the only statistic that matters. We are indeed a long way from this ideal state, based on our current division.
The other thing I found very disturbing about this election, was the resulty of the newly moblized youth vote. Younger voters improportionately and overwhelmingly voting in favor of Barack Obama. In record setting numbers. Why? Because he was "change". Yet how can so much of one population vary on opinion of ideals, values, and beliefs from the national population? Again, I do not think it can. Therefore, obviously a majority of these voters have based their opinion on a different factor than belief; in this case, "change". What is that change? I fear that many of them truly do not know. For this reason, I am fearful. The fact that our nation's future may be guided largely due to the uneducated views of the newly liberated youth is disturbing.
Blogging is fun. It's kind of like rambling. And I'm good at that. Fragment. All this being said (or typed in this case), my problem with the result of our election is not that Barack Obama won. I hope, and even believe he will do a good job. Surely better than any attempt I could muster. My problem with the result of our election is why Barack Obama won. He won largely because he was african american and because he found a way to convince uneducated youth to vote for him because he was "fresh". Neither of these reasons are valid criteria for deciding who will run our country. Both are decidedly BAD reasons.
So, as historic as this event has been, I do not believe it is change. In Senator Obama's words himself:
This victory is not the change we seek, only the opportunity to make the change we seek.
I could not agree more. Now that so many have been convinced of the value and importance of voting (thank you, Senator Obama, in all seriousness), they will hopefully learn why we vote. And maybe some day, everyone will vote based on valid reasoning. Not based on race; not based on appearance. A candidates' race, gender, marital status, age, and religious affiliation will not only be a non-issues, but will never even be brought up in conversation. Furthermore, everybody's personal affiliations, be it race, gender, age, etc., will be non-existent. They will be completely inconsequential. The only true affiliation between each other acknowledged among all will be our humanity. Only then will we have achieved our ideal state. Only then, as a population will we have CHANGED.
I have blogged. Damn it feels good to be a gangsta. Exhale.
