Conservatism Lives!

I’m going to do something dangerous with this post. I’m going to try again to deal with the issue of race even though I sit here as an “average white male”. Many people would say that my status as such precludes me from having the right to speak on the issue, but I’m going to do it anyway. So here goes…

With Barack Obama’s inauguration looming large the day after we celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., an enormous amount of press has been given to the notion that Obama will be our first “African American” or “black” President. As I must admit often happens to me, when pondering the historical significance of that moment and the way in which it is being presented to us, I find myself thinking something completely different than what I hear parroted around me. I can’t help but think that framing Obama’s Presidency is that light is not only inaccurate, but also sells short the reality of the situation and its significance. I see all of the pundits referring to Obama as the “first black President” and harkening back Dr. King’s legacy and dream. Dr. King gave his life for a dream in which blacks and whites were not only seen as equals, but in which the distinction was blurred to the point of insignificance. Barack Obama is quite literally the physical embodiment that dream. His very DNA melds the two races and cultures that Dr. King sought to unite. The fact of the matter is that Barack Obama isn’t solely a “black man”. He is, in fact, biracial. (Its no secret that Obama’s mother was raised by his white). He will, more accurately, be our first biracial President. Consequently, as I see it, Barack Obama represents more than what a monoracial African American President would. He isn’t just the acceptance of one race by the other, he is quite literally the joining of those races.

As always, I’m willing to accept the possibility that I’m completely off base with my point of view. However, regardless of my personal opinions about Obama’s politics, as an American I am heartened to see our country come to a place where we have demonstrably judged a man who sought our highest office not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character. (Of course, as a conservative, I would have preferred to see a man such as Ken Blackwell or J.C. Watts be the first representation of that achievement at the Presidential level, but I digress.) So on inauguration day, let’s have the honesty, integrity, and strength of character to celebrate the progress toward racial unity that President Obama represents. And after inauguration day, let’s continue to have the honesty, integrity, and strength of character to engage in open and honest dialogue about President Obama’s policies devoid of racial overtones or deflections on either side of the aisle.