The Perfect Storm
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Barack Obama
Oh yeah, did anyone notice that we have a new president-elect and he's black?
Mix a war that was supposed to have been won five years ago that's draining ten billion dollars a month out of a crippled economy, a president with approval ratings so low he couldn't campaign for his party this year with disenfranchised folks who are losing their jobs, their homes and watching their retirement portfolios go up in smoke and you have the recipe of a perfect storm.
Enter Barack Obama Superstar.
Charismatic, intelligent, personable, young, appealing and Black! Now seems like as good a time as any for revolution and the call for change became the platform, the rally cry, the foundation of what this campaign and this election was ran and won on.
Now, add a generation of first-time voters attracted to the rock star appeal of Mr. Obama and millions of people energized by the historical context of his candidacy, plus the politically aware who are tired of Republican policies and we have the 44th president of the United States.
Paint the White House black? Not exactly, won’t be any cookouts on the grand mall, but after decades of suffering and suffrage the fight is over…for some. People have to stay active, aware, informed, involved in not only national politics, but on state and local levels as well, where you are directly affected day to day by the politicians that are elected in your backyard.
Am I excited? It didn’t hit me like others, some call it pessimism, I say that I stopped dreaming a long time ago and I’m more interested in the job, not the journey in this case. I’m more excited about the reforms he promised during his campaign, I’m excited about the change that’s supposed to be on the way.
I’m so over the Black quarterback...Wrong topic, but it’s relatable, in sports when a team hits rock bottom, suddenly a Black man is fit to coach the team and navigate it towards respectability. I hope that’s not the case here. I also hope this situation is not as closely related to Black quarterbacks, where there’s a lot of flash, hype and hyperbole, but when they get under center, completing a pass is extremely difficult. Let’s just say that we should hope that President Obama is more Donovan McNabb than Akili Smith!
Robert Kennedy called it, he said there would be a Black president in 40 years, and Dr. King thought 25. Here we are forty years later and an African-American man is the president elect. I woke up to seventy text messages, ranging from “yes” to “we won” and “change is on the way”. I laughed at most of them, but understood the feeling of entitlement and that sense that they were a part of history. Yet, as I rode to work this morning, I saw a dude doing pull ups at the bus stop and overheard conversations of folks who actually thought Obama took office today. We’re gonna have to walk some of our people through this change.
When I think of how folks are acting, I’m reminded of the climactic scene in “The Wiz”. You remember when Dorothy, the Scarecrow and them defeated Evilene and the factory workers broke out of the bondage of the suits Evilene forced them to wear and they sung “Everybody Rejoice (Brand New Day). I guess it’s a great day and maybe down the road I’ll be affected the same way people are feeling now. No tears for me, I’m just hoping he handles his business and in four years time we’re not witnessing more history; an eligible incumbent president not on the ticket and then we’re looking at Hilary vs. Palin in 2012!
After all is said and done, there is nothing left to do or say, but do what you said you would do.
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