I’m simply amazed. From reading some of the so-called news of the day, it seems that there are an awful lot of folks with a terminal case of fear and hatred in regards to the election of Obama. These people write and post numerous opinion pieces disguised as “news” to tell you in no uncertain terms how they know what Obama is going to do or not do, how they know he is a “Muslim”, or not a citizen of the US, or a “Marxist”, or a “communist”…. All the while using the arguement that we really don’t know him…
Now, I can certainly understand the concept of being worried or uncomfortable about ANY new president-elect, especially if you did not vote for him. I most definitely would be worried if McCain and THAT WOMAN had been elected! But to claim “knowledge” of what will happen (the sky is falling) is foolish at best.
Whether or not you can admit that race plays a part in your opinions, either for or against, there is no escaping that it does, in fact.
No matter what, the election of Obama is a long awaited milestone. And not just for people of dark complexion either. It is a sign. A sign that at last the stigma of having darkish skin and a wide nose is beginning to be a thing of the past. A sign that we as a nation have, for the most part, finally gotten over the hump of shallowness and bigotry, where appearance or ancestry don’t have nearly as great importance as intelligence and common sense do. It shows that the majority of US citizens are finally beginning to scramble out of the darkness of a “trailer trash style mentality and into the light of intellect. It gives hope for a humanity which has been having such a hard time lately doing the right things.
Perhaps enough people have finally realized that we are ALL slaves now. Slaves to the system of – gotta work harder to buy more stuff, pay bills, pay taxes, keep up with the “Jones”. I read somewhere that in the average family of 4, mom and dad need to work until MAY of every year just to pay their taxes. Anything after that is for mortgage, car payments, bills, and if you are lucky, you eat. Constantly working. Not really for yourself either, but just to “make ends meet”. Certainly working that hard, you would think you would be able to have a grand lifestyle instead of simply getting by. I have a suspicion that many of the slaves of earlier times may have had it a bit better. They had to work hard, but they KNEW they would have food to eat and a roof over their heads…
And then there is the fact that there are a lot of us who “fall between the cracks” so to speak. We perhaps live or believe alternatively to what is considered “normal” to that exclusive group known as the status quo. As far as they are concerned, we are ALL NIGGERS, no matter what the color of skin. We know what it’s like to be looked down upon from the lofty pedestal of another human’s ego, discriminated against because of our clothing or beliefs or lifestyle. Mistreated because of our lower ranking within the community. We know who we are, and there are MANY. And we are no different than any person of color in that regard.
Now, those of you who HATE Obama for whatever reason, I dare say there is good chance you supported BUSH in the last election. BUSH. War criminal. Traitor to the Constitution. Probably one of the worlds most hated people in history. The election of Obama was a direct reflection of what a HORRIBLE job Bush has done. Just like anything else, things have to get bad enough for people to come out of their apathy and actually ACT. And things DID get bad enough, and people DID act. I daresay Obama is the last straw that people are grasping at in hopes that things can improve. If the Obama thing does not work, the alternative at this point in time is not looking too good for the home team.
Having someone in the drivers seat who KNOWS what it’s like to be seen as a lesser human being could be of great benefit. Having a president with actual INTELLIGENCE can not help but be a good influence in the long run. During the BUSH fiasco, the tolerance level for stupid and evil actually went UP. It became more acceptable to be bad. Since Bush, the whole country has gone down hill morally and intellectually. In some circles, those of us with actual morals and intelligence have become labeled as fruit-loops or worse.
No matter what happens, we are in better position once we are rid of Bush! It would be difficult for us to elect someone WORSE than him. McCain would have probably been just more of same for the most part. Militaristic and appealing to the good-old-boy, redneck, trailer trash mentality. And not very smart to boot.
But we are ready to move to the next level, don’t you think?
If there is one thing I have learned in life that always holds true, stupid people cause trouble. That may be simplifying things too much for some, or possibly seen as an insulting statement, but it is the basic ingredient to the FACTS of life.
This FACT gives some insight into how we should live our lives on a personal level as well.
For the most part, (state cops excluded) it is entirely possible to maintain a fair distance from those individuals who we see as being a problem WITHOUT hating them. For example, in reality there are MANY people who I love and care about who I DON’T associate with much because they have not yet grasped that concept. Trouble follows troublesome or gullible people. If you hang out with folks whose lives are full of drama and problems, soon, you too will have troubles. A more folksy way of saying this would be “Shit runs downhill”. The key is taking personal RESPONSIBILITY for YOURSELF.
If you hang out with rednecks, you might get into a fight. If you hang out with drunks, you might fall in the mud, if you hang with drug dealers, you might get busted, if you hang with thieves, you might get stolen from.
You can play the “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” game if you want to. OR, you can have empathy for the rednecks because you too get pissed off occasionally. You can have sympathy for the drunks because it’s sad and a waste that they have so little pride in themselves that they handicap themselves ON PURPOSE day after day. You can feel sorry for the drug dealers and thieves because they have fallen so low that they do not care about anyone or anything any more, including themselves, while at the same time keeping a good healthy distance.
Heck, you can even feel sorry for the state troopers sometimes.
I ran into a very young state cop at Wally World the other day in the coffee isle. He apparently had been sent on an “investigative” mission to purchase a can of coffee for the coffee and doughnut gang down at the barracks. The poor guy was having an awful time choosing the right thing. He even had someone on his cell phone trying to give him direction. After 10 minutes or so, I began to think that perhaps I should try to help. He looked so young and lost for all of his fancy green uniform, shaved head and gun and all. He can shoot or arrest anyone he sees fit to, placing himself in the position of a GOD, but can not even purchase the proper can of coffee. Sad.
Or the off duty state trooper I met at a festival last year working security. A professional drug task force officer, who became TERRIFIED and red in the face because I was burning a sprig of white desert sage, and actually thought it “smells like good chronic to me”… How very, very sad.
You see, just because I think it’s sad or I feel compassion for someone does not mean I have to be their companion or even agree with what they do. And just because someone is a drug dealer, or wears a green uniform, or has darkish skin, does not mean I need to hate or treat them badly, only take them for what they are and decide how much to associate myself with that person.
It’s all about taking personal responsibility. It’s all about having pride in ones self, and the personal strength to do what you know is right and treat others as YOU would expect to be treated. It’s not about bigotry or across-the-board discrimination. It’s about doing the RIGHT things as opposed to doing things based on a set opinion, or just because other people are doing it. Because someone else’s opinion might be totally the opposite from you own. Makes it neither right nor wrong. Just yours.
Calhoun Underground 