Monday, January 19, 2009

Impossible? Not in America

There is a lot of stuff in the media right now about how historic Barack Obama's election is and the lead-up to election day has been like nothing we've ever seen. Let me be clear, it is historic, and I realize there are some people who genuinely believed a black man (or woman) would never be President. However, I may be naive, but I can't believe all these "masses" really believed that.

I'm not suprised that a black man was elected President because that never seemed impossible to me. I've always believed that America is a place where if you work hard you can achieve anything. That's why I have a hard time feeling sorry for people who sit on their butts and don't try to improve their lives. Obama is a very smart guy, he's personable, and he's great at persuasion. Of course, he could be elected President. His election is significant, but placing too much emphasis on his race serves only to perpetuate division. I think it says more about someone's feelings on racism if they were "shocked" that a black man was elected President. Can't anyone be President? Our response as American's should be "of course - this is America - anything is possible."