Wednesday, November 05, 2008

America: Yes We Can!

The 19th of November, 1863
- The Gettysburg Address

Seven score and five years ago Abraham Lincoln said ...
"Four score and seven years ago..."


"I have a dream ... children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." -Martin Luther King, Jr. - 8/28/63

It'll probably take a week or two for it to really sink in, for the cloud of dust to settle from the Obama bomb blast.

It'll probably take that long for things to dry out, for the waters to recede after the Obama Tsunami.

Black & White

To many the election process was a matter of black and white. I seriously doubt that those miscreants who voted for either black or white made any real difference in the final outcome, but I didn't expect to be confronted by one in that number.

I certainly didn't expect it at 8:30 this morning while I was hauling the trash to the sidewalk. One of the men working on the truck - he walks behind the truck and tosses the trash into the back into the compacter department - called out to me.

"Hey, whitey! Look who's runnin' the country now! We's the lawn mower and your white asses are grass!" He raised his fist to the sky and laughed loudly. I stood there and watched the truck disappear around the corner.

The man's co-workers, the driver and the other "bag-tosser" were both white. I wonder how they felt about his behavior and inappropriate snipes. I suppose like me they didn't want to get confrontational and certainly didn't want to trade racial slurs.

I'm hoping this was an isolated incident and that there aren't widespread occurrences of that man's attitude elsewhere. Things like this don't end racism, they perpetuate it.

I know he was only elected yesterday, but he will be watched like a speciman on a slide under a microscope. And lurking in the shadows behind him ...

Let's give the man a chance!

1516

12 comments:

Sandee said...

I agree, let's give him a chance. The election is over...it's time to work on fixing this great country. Have a great day. :)

Carolyn said...

I agree. A chance is all any of us have asked for these last 4+ years :)

Your garbage guy still has the wrong idea of "change" however. Sad. Hope he grows up soon.

Skunkfeathers said...

Eh...the Right has a few morons on the fringes, and so does the Left. You met one from the Left yesterday. There'll be more.

The vast majority are still better than either fringe, and always will be.

'Nuff said ;)

Cliff said...

I feel the reason Obama got over was the fact he was running for President of the United States and not president of his race.

I was conducting some business yesterday in a predominately black area of town, and the feeling I got was one of pride and not one of vindiction.

Those of us that know the power of prayer will now have the job of lifting up our next commander in chief to the Lord.

Jack K. said...

We all get eat up with the dumbass once in a while.

I hope the trash thrower got that out of his system by now. Who knows?

We'll see....

The rest of us will just have to press on to a greater nation.

I heard one young black man being interviewed on TV and he was cognizant of the need for accountability among us all. "No longer will a young black man be able to say, 'I'm this way because I didn't know my father.' Obama didn't have a father in his life either." Eloquently stated, young man, eloquently stated.

Now to get on with bringing this country together.

Love you guys/gals.

Hale McKay said...

Jack,

Something tells me the "trash-tosser" was repeating that performance all day long.

The cynic in me cannot help but feel that there are a lot of his ilk out there who thinks the outcome of the election is their comeuppance.

Hale McKay said...

Wixy,

..."he was running for President of the United States and not President of his race."

I'm sure your right. I hope you're right.

Hale McKay said...

Skunk,

You are so right. There are many morons on the fringes of both sides of this issue.

It was just my look to have encountered that moron so soon after the election.

Hale McKay said...

Carolyn,

As I said in the post, I can only hope this guy was in a very large minority.

Hale McKay said...

Sandee,

I am ready to give the man a chance. I only hope those who do the same are in an overwhelming majority.

Duke_of_Earle said...

Hale,

I for one celebrate the fact that although racism is far from dead, we in this country have come a long way in my lifetime. Who would have thought even 10 years ago, much less 20 or 40 that a "minority" of ANY kind could be elected to the highest office in the land. No, I didn't vote for him. But that choice had nothing to do with race. I believe (and yes, pray) that he will be a GREAT president!

(By the way, I think ol' Abe said "FOUR score," not "for score." Just keepin' you honest!:)

John

Hale McKay said...

John,

Who needs spell check when I have you? Of course spell check doesn't catch context - only if the word is spelled correctly.

I don't even look for him to be a "great" president - I'll settle for a good one.