Historical Election
The election of Obama has been good news at our house. But aside from the strong belief that we chose the best person for the job, the added aspect of race has meant more to me than I thought it would. This is one time I am glad that I am past fifty, and wouldn't mind being even older.
I watched the end of the election results, and actually turned on the tv only about a half hour or so before they announced the winner. We stayed up to hear both speeches, and that was really what got to me. I remember Viet Nam. I remember civil rights in the 60's.
At Obama's speech, Jesse Jackson stood close to the front, and the tears ran down his face throughout the entire speech. I am old enough to remember that Jesse Jackson was there on the balcony when Martin Luther King Jr was shot. I remember both his runs for presidency, and I remember how completely impossible it seemed that he could believe there was any possibility of him winning. It was a different time.
Jackson was from the same era as Rev. Wright. He had the same reasons for anger and activism as Rev. Wright. Besides people being afraid of having an African American as president, people were also afraid of Jackson's activism.
But times have changed. A new generation has grown up with some improvements over the things Jackson and MLK and Wright had to live through. Not enough improvements to make things just or equal yet, but enough to make it possible for Barak Obama to convince a majority of this country that he is the best candidate for this job, enough for him to be able to speak about race without frightening the majority of voters.
Anyway, it was very moving for me to see Jesse Jackson watch Barak Obama's acceptance speech. What a night.
* * * * * * * *
And tonight is historical also, but only at our house. Ben helped me switch my laptop over to linux and also to add linux to our desktop. We are busy trying things out and setting up our personal accounts, learning how to do things the new way. Obviously blogging still works fine.
I watched the end of the election results, and actually turned on the tv only about a half hour or so before they announced the winner. We stayed up to hear both speeches, and that was really what got to me. I remember Viet Nam. I remember civil rights in the 60's.
At Obama's speech, Jesse Jackson stood close to the front, and the tears ran down his face throughout the entire speech. I am old enough to remember that Jesse Jackson was there on the balcony when Martin Luther King Jr was shot. I remember both his runs for presidency, and I remember how completely impossible it seemed that he could believe there was any possibility of him winning. It was a different time.
Jackson was from the same era as Rev. Wright. He had the same reasons for anger and activism as Rev. Wright. Besides people being afraid of having an African American as president, people were also afraid of Jackson's activism.
But times have changed. A new generation has grown up with some improvements over the things Jackson and MLK and Wright had to live through. Not enough improvements to make things just or equal yet, but enough to make it possible for Barak Obama to convince a majority of this country that he is the best candidate for this job, enough for him to be able to speak about race without frightening the majority of voters.
Anyway, it was very moving for me to see Jesse Jackson watch Barak Obama's acceptance speech. What a night.
* * * * * * * *
And tonight is historical also, but only at our house. Ben helped me switch my laptop over to linux and also to add linux to our desktop. We are busy trying things out and setting up our personal accounts, learning how to do things the new way. Obviously blogging still works fine.
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