On Tuesday we all witnessed on TV (and a few of the lucky ones actually at Grant Park), the historic event of our first African American president being elected. There have been articles all over the news, and the main celebration seems to be that this proves America has gotten over its racism. When seeing these, I thought it was a little bit too far reaching to say things referring to our country as "post-racial" America. Obviously there was no way to keep things in perspective the moment Obama won, why take away all the wild excitement people were feeling? However, it's time to get pragmatic. Chances are, America didn't magically turn into a perfect country overnight. We're still going to need to work to break down prejuidices, and no matter what anybody says I do not believe there's not a trace of racism left in the country.
On the other hand, I think McCain handled his concession speech in the perfect manner, and should be a role model to all politicians when handling defeat. McCain was obviously pragmatic in the way that he had lost, his chances in the election were clearly over. However, he was very idealistic in his praise and sincere hope for Obama in the future. McCain had the power to start riots over his loss, but with the perfect blend of appeals, McCain left the election a well respected politician.
2 comments:
I agree McCain was very pragmatic in the way he chose to deliver his inauguration speech. He realistically looked at the situation at hand and realized that it was his time to pass his power over his people over to Obama. It was the end at the road of his way to the presidency that got intercepted by Obama and he had to pass the ball on.
I think that Obama's election as the first African American president was a huge milestone to overcome racism, but it definitely does not solve all our problems. That takes a lot of time, and I agree with what you said that absolute change cannot happen overnight. My hopes are that with Obama as a President, people will start to become more accepting of those who are different than them. Seeing Hilary Clinton run for President was also a huge milestone for our country because, even though she was not elected, she still ran to be the first woman president. While we are nowhere near conquering the ongoing battle of racism (or sexism) I beleive this election was a huge step. Future generations will be used to seeing African Americans and women in positions of power.
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