You might not be able to see the videos I'm about to link, but, if you can, please do.
These are interviews with black military veterans from the Tuskogee Airmen to Viet Nam veterans.
As one veteran from Tuskogee noted, Obama's election was the culmination of everything they were fighting for. Many young black men joined the military during WWI and WWII, even during the worst segregation, to fight for our nation and for the idea of freedom, even when their own liberty was not assured or protected. These men fought two wars everyday of their service.
They had decided that, to be free, they would have to fight for it. It was the same reason that Fredrick Douglass had given when urging young black men to join the first "colored troop" of the Union. Both going on to serve in the famed 54th Massachusetts, made famous in the movie "Glory" starring Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington.
President Truman signed into law the desegregation of the military in 1948.
Thank God for all of our veterans who have served our nation in good times and in bad. Perfect and imperfect. May we always strive to meet the lofty expectations of our founding fathers:
We hold these truths to be self evident; that all men are created equal...
These are interviews with black military veterans from the Tuskogee Airmen to Viet Nam veterans.
As one veteran from Tuskogee noted, Obama's election was the culmination of everything they were fighting for. Many young black men joined the military during WWI and WWII, even during the worst segregation, to fight for our nation and for the idea of freedom, even when their own liberty was not assured or protected. These men fought two wars everyday of their service.
They had decided that, to be free, they would have to fight for it. It was the same reason that Fredrick Douglass had given when urging young black men to join the first "colored troop" of the Union. Both going on to serve in the famed 54th Massachusetts, made famous in the movie "Glory" starring Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington.
President Truman signed into law the desegregation of the military in 1948.
Thank God for all of our veterans who have served our nation in good times and in bad. Perfect and imperfect. May we always strive to meet the lofty expectations of our founding fathers:
We hold these truths to be self evident; that all men are created equal...
Racism isn't dead, possibly never will be, but I do believe the West has made great progress in the area and is comparably better than the rest of the world.
Racism is defined as "a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others."
Bigotry is defined as "stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one's own."
Combined, those two definitions sum up why some people voted for Obama: racial bigotry.
I am neither a racist nor a bigot, but it is ignorant to rule out race as a determining factor of this election. When I stand in line, wearing my McCain/Palin tshirt, and a black man asks me why I support them, and I say "because of their stances on fiscal responsibility, ability to lead our military, and protect our country from terrorist attacks", it's not because McCain is white; it's because I firmly believe he has the stuff to lead our country out of the hole we're in now. And when I ask that same black man why he's supporting Obama, and he says "Cuz he's just like me"... you tell me who has a more valid and logical reason to support one candidate over the other.
I couldn't give a flyin' flip what color your skin is or if you're a democrat or a republican; if your ideas, ideals, morals and believes most closely match what I believe is best for our country, you'll get my vote and my support. Right now, Obama has neither, and probably never will. I applaud his accomplishment- hell, I'll applaud anyone who can get themselves elected as the president of the best country in the world because it's quite an accomplishment no matter who you are. But that doesn't mean that I will support you, your ideas, or the laws you put in place just because you are the president.
I voted McCain but I remember going to Catholic school and seeing John F. Kennedy's picture up on the wall next to the crucifix. I understand that feeling. I have to wish my friends who voted for Obama, the joy of the day. God Bless, I hope his presidency is good for us all.
Greetings all. Kat, again a good post, and very much in line with what I posted on mine the other day on grandretort (after too long gone from that, if you don't mind me touting my stuff a little.)
And AF Sis (hello by the way), um... I'd say you both have equally valid reasons for voting for your candidate of choice--different perspectives, different values, different experiences, all equally valid, informing your choice. I absolutely understand why a black person would vote for Obama just because he's black. If the choices are all things equal to you otherwise, then go with what feels right. Frankly, Americans often vote in ways contrary to what the world thinks is right, jsut because it feels right to do so, as in electing Bush in 2004, but sometimes we vote for something that on the surface just seems wrong, yet isn't. I can't see the future--though I am afraid of what I can imagine, but without any qualification at all, I can say that your reason for voting for McCain was only more valid to you and has no bearing on that other person's reality... And as for voting for a Candidate because of his color, I don't know, but I'd guess as many whites voted for McCain because Obama is black as black people did, and while I can call the whites bigots for doing so, I just can't say I feel teh same about blacks who did. Different motivations....
z'at make sense?
I respectfully disagree.
If I voted for McCain simply because he's white, I'd be called a racist. But why is it then that black people who voted for Obama simply because he's black aren't being called a racist? Why is it ok for black people to claim that they voted for Obama simply because "he's like me- a black man", but it's not ok for white people to do the same in their defense of voting for McCain?
I'm not ignoring the fact that it probably happened both ways, but why is one way considered racist, and the other isn't? Neither is a positive event; both are negative. When you vote for- or against- someone solely upon the color of their skin or ethnic background, it's racist.
And ANYONE who thinks that McCain or Obama is "just like me" simply because their skin colors match, is ignorant. Look at their social status, income, education, employment history, family, morals and values before you even begin to say that someone is "just like me". Your skin color doens't make you who you are; YOU make you who you are.
>If I voted for McCain simply because he's white, I'd be called a racist. But why is it then that black people who voted for Obama simply because he's black aren't being called a racist?
If you voted for McCain because he's white (and you are white) you are not what I consider bigoted; on the other hand, if you voted for McCain because Obama is black (and you are not black), then you are. I know that's a thinly sliced semantic difference, but it is a valid one to me.
For example, if a Jew is ever nominated for President, my first pro/con point of comparison will be the ethnicity of the other candidates. After that, I will filter for ideology, morality, etc., and if the other pro/con distinctions are not more than a few points in either direction, I'm voting for the Jew, no matter what the other person may or may not have by way of good points. Would I be bigoted or racist or whatever then? Well, to some folks, I guess, but if the other issues are not issues for me, or if I don't care about the distinctions that other people care about, and the only thing that matters to me between the two candidates is their ethnic origins, then I don't see the problem.
Of course, the fact remains that Obama and McCair represent wholely different ideologies and perspectives (as I know you know), but that doesn't mean anything really, if the voter doesn't care about those things. That said, I would wager that a lot of people who voted for Obama mostly because he's black would not have voted for Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton or Condoleeza Rice for the same reason, because even though you and I may think the man is dangerous, an awful lot of people really are hoping that Obama will be a change agent for the better.
As for McCain, he's worthy of every bit of honor I could give a person, but he is not Ronald Regan and I feel no obligation to vote for him. I don't really want a maverick, I want a President who can get stuff done the way Regan did. I voted for McCain because all-democrat government scares me. Fact is, I think a less extreme Republican and a non-easy to target VP would have done better. Also, I don't think McCain wanted to win badly enough, really--AND he was not supported/aided by people who really understood the situation well enough.
But I digress again, sorry... I hope my distinction makes sense now.
V/R