Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Reflections from the nail salon

I got a pedicure today, and it was wonderful. The owners of the salon had the news on, and we were all watching live footage from the Democratic National Convention. Well, I was kind of watching. I was paying more attention to the two African-American women sitting near me who were watching. The look on their faces was priceless. And I don't mean that in a sarcastic or humorous way. Clinton had just finished asking the delegates that Obama's nomination be unanimous. They cut to footage of Obama's plane arriving across town. Everyone in the entire convention center was going nuts, celebrating. It was a great moment, and I could tell these two women were proud to witness it. One looked at me and said, "I never thought I'd see this in my lifetime."

I generally avoid politics on this blog, and I will probably continue to do so. But I had to comment on this. I don't care which side of the fence you stand on--this really is a monumental, inspiring day. I am so proud to see our country moving past race and voting for a black man. I know that there are many people--even Democrats--who won't vote for him for that very reason, but it's still a step in the right direction. I'm not sure he's the right man for the job. I'm not sure either one of them is the right man. To be completely honest, I don't know who I'm voting for. But this is progress.

We're seeing history being made.

3 comments:

gregindepth said...

i completely see the enormity of this moment, however, the issue of race will only be "gotten past" when it does not need to be brought up by either side. each candidate needs to be weighed by the merit of their stances on personal and political convictions, strength of character, and some measure of honesty. this particular election I believe is going to be divided among those who look at it like that and those who do, ridiculously look at the color of skin, sad but true.

Beth said...

I think that it's sad in a way that we DO focus on that he's black. I am glad to see our country move past it, but the media comparing his speech to Martin Luther King Jr. was well... reverse in a sense... he's black so I'm voting for him... what about his readiness? What about if he can bring about change that everyone says they want?

Hopefully if what I'm hearing is correct, a McCain ticket could be change history, too.

A woman VP.

This election will be exciting b/c either ticket will change history...

I hope that's the case... what fun!

a.j.g. said...

It would be nice if someday race wasn't an issue, if we only focused on the issues. This is where it starts, though.