Bridging the Great Divide
Still, the fact remains many are following the race not only because of the NEED for a new president, but because of the historic milestones in this race, a woman and specifically a black man. The issue of race became a hot topic during the North Carolina primary, but it was the comments made by Pastor Jeremiah Wright that put race in the forefront.
Obama made it clear to the country and the world when he said, "I chose to run for president at this moment in history because i believe deeply that we can not solve the problems of our time, unless we solve them together, unless we perfect our union by understanding that while we have different stories, but we have common hopes. That we may not look the same and may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move towards the same thing. .. a better future for our children. . ." A man who's white mom is from Kansas and who's black dad is from kenya, understands that he is the epitome of what the United States stands for. Yet, he realizes the country still has and continues to battle race issues. He knows his presidential campaign could be viewed as an exercise of affirmative action, but he's moving on and forcing the country to look beyond the lines of skin color.
His well-stated speech addressing Wright's comments were clear, concise and will never be forgotten. Even as Wright continues to be making headlines on newspapers and television, Obama still denotes his religious leader and says Wright's comments "were wrong and divisive."
I have often thought that maybe Wright is merely seeking media attention for himself and is using Obama for his political and social clout. That may never be proven. The truth remains that the media is eating up whatever this so-called religious leader says. The media watches the racial demographics every day waiting to see when the polls will depict the candidates. The country is based on slavery, segregation and discrimination and sadly, it's the media that contributes to this phenomenon. At a time when the country is making humongous progress, we continue to dwell on the fact that we are. Obama does realize he's black. He realizes he's also white. More importantly, he realizes that he's American, and that is something that more than 300 million people in the world can say.
Wright's statements were ignorant and selfish, but Obama continues to prove that he will not be overtaken. Race will be an issue, but other are far more important. Obama stated it best when he said, "we need to come together monumental problems towards a terroists threat, a falling economy, a chronic healthcare crisis, and potentially devestating climate change. problems that are neither black, or white or latino or asian, but rather problems can confront us all."
