Wednesday, January 21, 2009

History

Hi nobody! I really need to work on promoting this guy more.

So, yesterday January 20th, 2009 was a day that changed history. Barack H. Obama became the 44th president of the United States. He is also the first african american president EVER. As an african american, I can honestly say that this isn't something I thought I'd see this early in my young life, if ever. I thought that there was still too much prejudice in this country for people to see past the color of this brillant man's skin to see that he would really be the best person for the job.

This whole election was definitely one that changed history. I mean, there was so much more at stake than there has been in the past. Not just the war or the economy but both. The person who was to take on the presidency had to be someone strong enough to handle all of that. And to fix the mistakes made by the administration before him. And now I know that some of my friends don't agree with my political views and this isn't going to be a post where that's all I speak about. But now that Barack has been sworn in and is officially official I pause a minute to think about how different things would have been if John McCain had been elected. I really don't think that things would have changed much if at all. The rich would still be rich and the poor would just get poorer. As a member of the poor I would really like to see things change in that capacity. It isn't fair that my parents have to be driven out of the city they've called their home for 50+ years because rents are getting expensive. It isn't fair that I will be paying off student loans until I'm 42 because of the killer interest rates. It shouldn't be that only 5% of the population controlls the wealth. And this is something I really believe that Obama will change. Of course it isn't going to happen in a day, a month, a year, maybe not even 4 years. But I know that he will set the wheels in motion for such a thing to happen.

Why do I know that? Because Barack and Michelle Obama are regular people. They're just like me and my family, except now they have a really swanky address and a lot of power. But they shop at Target and their kids go to public school and Michelle wears clothes from the Ann Taylor Loft and looks just as beautiful in them as she would in Dior. They didn't come from money so they understand what it means to have to fight and struggle just to keep your head above water. They know the uphill battle than me and a lot of my friends are now facing with paying back our student loans, forcing us to live with our parents or to do jobs that we may not want just to be able to pay the bills but be no closer to moving out of their houses no matter how much we want to. They understand what its like to be a student who struggles to find a job in this economy which is damn near impossible. And they care and want to make it better for us. Would McCain? I don't think so, I really don't. I mean he and his wife come from priviledge. I bet their kids didn't have to take out student loans and they have plenty of money to live comfortably.

They have no idea what it's like to have to make a decision like feeding your family or putting gas in your car. They don't know what its like to put off buying something that you need just so that everyone else in your household is taken care of. They don't know that kind of sacrifice which is why I don't think that they would have done what they needed to do to make it better. And as a woman, I would fear for my rights if McCain would have won. Why? Because we wouldn't have any anymore. Obama is going to keep the rights we have like Roe v. Wade and giving us new ones, like help for single mothers who have to take off work if their kid gets sick. He understands the plight of the working class family.

And as I sat on my couch wrapped in a blanket watching him take the oath of office and make his speech, I was proud. Proud because we now have a man in office who will do everything he can to make life better for everyone. A man who doesn't let anyone off the hook for the situations we now find ourselves in as a country. A man who has pride, not just because of who we are and what we've done but because of what we can do and what he will lead us to do in the future. You may not agree with me, but where has that pride been for the last 8 years? Where has any of that responsibility been the last 8 years? Where has that humility been the last 8 years? Surely not in the United States of America. In the past 8 years I've seen arrogance and gluttony, not physical gluttony but monetary gluttony. An abuse of power and people who didn't care about the thousands of innocent lives that were lost under their command. And I don't care what anyone says, that isn't a country to be proud of. How can you be proud of a country that has not only failed its own citizens but has caused devastation all around the world? You can't. At least I can't.

Now I am proud to be an American. I know that the Obama administration will work tirelessly to restore the world's faith in America and its citizens. I know that I sat and watched an eloquent, well spoken and sharply dressed man make a promise. A promise to not only his country and the world but to himself to make this world a better place for future generations. As Sam Cooke said in his famous civil rights anthem 'It's been a long time coming but I know a change is gonna come.' Yes it is Sam. And yes we can America. Land of the free and home of the brave.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Exceptionally written! You've got-it girly girl Your destiny is at the end of your pencil...
Mary-Lynn 1/21/09

Anonymous said...

I agree with the bulk of what you said, and I think you said it well. Here is what I hope more than anything else though: that President Obama, who came from NOTHING to become president, reforms welfare, so that people who have abused the system, people who have conveniently said all their lives "the man is keeping me down", lazy, useless, drug-using, baby-having, wastes of life, learn what it's like to ACTUALLY struggle for the roof over their heads, rather than having it handed to them... I hope I never hear again, "a black person can't move up in this world." As a poor white person, I was discluded from financial aid all through college. So I worked full time instead, in addition to being a dean's list student. I have held many, MANY jobs that were beneath my intelligence and my worth, just to buy ramen noodles and rice-a-roni. ALWAYS, I was told I "make too much money" to get food stamps, welfare, or section 8. That's okay, I have more self-worth than taking a free-ride... If the people who NEEDED those things, could get those things, and the people who abused the system were kicked out of it... well wouldn't THAT be a wonderful world? THAT is what I hope President Obama achieves... making things right... I hope to God that a lot of changes come, but if he regulated the abuse of the system, you know how much more money the federal government would save? They could lower those student loan rates, and raise social security and veterans' benefits... if people on welfare, ANYONE and EVERYONE who lived in a section 8 apartment, or received food stamps, as well as all those who lived with them, were subject to a one-strike-and-you're-out random drug test clause, in order to sit home and "collect", as well as a cap put on to how much you can collect, regardless of how many people lived with or "depend" on you... well if all that was done, then that would free up LITERALLY billions of dollars thrown away on entitlements to people who don't deserve them... Oh, what power President Obama has! I hope he does everything he can to make this country better, but I also hope it doesn't come back to bite us in the ass...

Tracy Fancher said...

Amen girlll! couldn't agree more.