A Centrist’s View on the Obama Presidency
Posted on November 5, 2008
I just wrote an email to my children trying to explain what this election means to our generation. I am a centrist that leans to the right, so I don’t agree with all of Obama’s political views. This election, however, carries much greater meaning to me. So I thought I’d share my email with my readers:
Hi _________, __________, _________, & _________,
Even though I disagree with some of his political views and hope that he will move closer to “center-left,” this election has incredible meaning to Mom and I. I’ve seen a lot of elections in my lifetime, but this is the first one that made me cry. Seeing Jesse Jackson, a man who was very involved in the civil rights movement, cry with disbelief in his eyes was poignant; but for me it was when Obama and his family walked on stage.
We all experience present events through the filter of our past. From my vantage point, I saw a young Kennedy family victorious mostly because of his gift of oratory and the hope his youthful visions promised. He was the first Catholic elected president – overcoming a resistance that went clear back to the founding of our nation. Now this new man and his family have overcome even more.
I remember watching a movie, I think it was Deep Impact, where Morgan Freeman played the President. I thought to myself how good it would be for us if there ever were a black president – how healing it would be. Although I knew someday it would come, I never thought I’d live to see it. But I never thought I’d see the Berlin Wall fall either. My historical filter made those two things seem too far off, taking many more generations to happen.
I was wrong. Sometimes God moves much faster than we think is possible. A whole lot of things had to come together to make both of these events happen. I guess my faith in His timing, and in the American people has grown because of this election of our new President.
What I’m trying to say is I grew up in a wonderful, peaceful place called Birch Bay during a tumultuous time in our history: the Kent State shootings, the assassinations of three leaders (Martin Luther King, Jr., Jack Kennedy, and Bobby Kennedy).
Charles Dickens could have easily been writing about the 60’s when he wrote:
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way.”
So, for our generation, this election is a culmination of our hopes. Mom and I were never ‘hippies’ but we were a part of that idealistic time. It’s true I wish Obama were more of a centrist, but his presidency is a symbol of our nation’s growth. Sometimes God provides amazing metaphors. Obama isn’t just black. He had a black, African father and a white mother from Kansas. He is a blending of our races. His mulatto heritage makes him a perfect metaphor for the healing of our country. (If you want an idea of our generation’s hopes in this, see the movie “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.”)
Well, I know you all realize the historic nature of this event. I guess I just wanted to share how profound it is for us. You were born in a time when prejudice was looked down on. We were born in a time when, in certain parts of the country, it was the accepted norm. The 60’s were a time of fighting against prejudice and hoping for change. 1968 was a major turning point, a major clash of ideologies. The Tet Offensive marked the beginning of the end of the Vietnam War and the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy exposed the ugliness of racial hatred. It was the end of our youthful, naive idealism and the beginning of real change. We became adults and the world grew up a bit too.
Now, exactly 40 years later, we have a black president with a really weird name moving into the White House. I don’t know if he will be a good leader or not, but the fact of his election fulfills Martin Luther King’s hope that someday a man will be judged by the content of his character and not the color of his skin. King died because of those words, our new president is a result of them.
Dad
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