Sunday, January 18, 2009

Barack Obama


So I try very hard not to interject my political views on my blog. I try to be very objective and rationally make my own decisions.

I want to talk about Obama. I am not going to talk about whether he will be the next Lincoln or not. Because really that will not be determined for many years to come. I am not going to talk about his views on the economy, abortion, gay rights, imigration, etc. Again....We all come from all backgrounds and situations which make our views what they are. And my blog isn't about that. My blog is about parenting my RAD child....and those things, while important, don't directly affect what I talk about on my blog.

So why on earth would I talk about Obama? Because Barack Obama is biracial. That bonds him to my family. That is what I find the most touching today as I watch the concert for him on HBO. I am tearing as I think about it. My biracial daughter is rolling her eyes. She isn't as touched by this as I am.

I grew up on military bases. I grew up with neighbors of every nationality. I truly didn't know that there was anywhere in America that people didn't live like this. I had Korean neighbors, Guamanian neighbors, African American neighbors, Hispanic neighbors, White neighbors, you get the picture. My schools always were so very diverse. I was so lucky to be raised in such a culturally rich and diverse situation. My church was also this diverse. Because many of the families were made up of American servicemen that had met and married women from different parts of the world, there were also many biracial children. I also never knew this had its own stigma.

Off topic again!

Obama grew up with a single white mother and at somepoint in his childhood was raised by his poor white grandparents. He had an absent father. He lived in Kansas, where I imagine he wasn't the norm. He had adversity. So in some aspects he grew up as many of our kids did. With great adversity in his very young life.

Please don't email me with comments about how his color isn't important and all of that crap....blah blah blah....Read my feelings don't analyze my words to find fault.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character~ MLK Jr.

And that is what I feel Obama is doing for our children. He is showing that you can be judged for more than the color of your skin...You can be judged by your hard work, your intelligence, your character and your desire to be the best that you can be. I am proud to live in that America. I am proud that my children live in that America. I truly think that he shows our children that adversity and color is part of who you are, it doesn't define who you are!

Please refrain from sending me any political rhetoric. This isn't about his policy or democratic rhetoric because I am a Proud Republican. This blog is about me being proud that I live in a country where color isn't everything....And this wasn't always that America.

God Bless America!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

BLAH!

Queen Mommy said...

If this is the kind of comment you choose to leave...Stop reading my blog...

Rana Sinha said...

Very interesting and thought provoking post. Thanks. I did some research on how biethnic adults adapt to the workplace and found that they adapt very well indeed.

What is vital for biracial or biethnic, as I prefer to use that term, people is what kind of positive role model they identify with. Obama's example is a great boost in this field.

Being different can be a gift or a burden. As biracials we need to face the issue, rise up to the challenge and stop being automatic repositories of people's prejudices. Biracials are not victims, but symbols of nature's way of bringing change and variety to the human race.