Obama breaking new ground
Published 12:00 am Sunday, August 24, 2008
In a few months, Americans will come together to choose their next leader. One man, likely either Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain, will ultimately become America’s commander in chief.
Many, many differences separate the two men, but perhaps none as superficially noticeable as the different colors of their skin.
Race is an easy variable to notice. Nowhere is that more obvious than in a community such as Natchez, where the ratio of blacks and whites is nearly equal.
Not all that long ago, great divides separated the races in our community. While some arguably still exist, each day the divides are diminished.
And with those changes come slow, but ultimately sweeping changes in how we think and vote.
Four years ago, Natchez elected its first black mayor since Reconstruction. Phillip West’s election made state and national headlines. The first to break such a racial barrier is always noteworthy.
Similarly, Barack Obama has broken new ground, too. He’s the first black candidate expected to win a major political party’s nomination and he’s got a good shot to become the president.
Politically we don’t like Barack Obama. He simply lacks the experience to run the country.
But on a much larger, much more long-term focus, we love Barack. We love him because he represents another “first” — and a big “first” — to be scratched off the list of things that blacks have yet to accomplish.
Eventually, America will have a black president — Barack or someone else.
Through more time and more “firsts” the notion of a “black” president will seem foreign because the president — regardless of skin color — will simply be an American president.