An Historic Election
Well, he did it. After all the fretting over accuracy of polls, possible Election Day shenanigans and fears about deep-seated racism lingering in America, it all came to naught. Barack Obama won and he won big.
And suddenly, it seems that everyone wants to talk about race, which has been the donkey in the room for over a year now. Obama didn’t campaign on it, and the McCain campaign had to talk about it obliquely, by whispering about terrorists and Muslims and real Americans. But as soon as Obama won, the floodgates were opened up, and the historic nature of electing a black man to the most powerful position in the world demand that we all finally acknowledge it.
There’s John McCain, congratulating Barack on breaking through the color barrier, making me happy that the old McCain version 2000 was still in there somewhere. There’s Brian Williams, pulling out a grade school picture of all the presidents, saying finally there will be a non-white one on it. There’s Oprah cheering. There’s Jesse Jackson crying.
And there’s me, looking at my adopted son, who looks enough like Obama that he went trick-or-treating as Obama on Halloween a few times to score a lot of extra candy in my neighborhood. I told him tonight that he could be president one day, and finally it was not just some wild-eyed fantasy. Or my daughters, who are just as cute as the Obama daughters, and now have a strong black woman role model in Michelle to aspire to. These things matter.
But let’s not kid ourselves that racism has been solved. What we proved tonight is that we’ve finally tipped the scale enough that even race won’t keep the best man from winning anymore. And yet we are always one YouTube click away from the vile underbelly that we rejected yesterday.
After hearing Obama’s victory speech, I am struck by how well he wears the hopes and dreams of others. He knows he’s a symbol and he embraces it. Whereas most people seem to reject such a burden as too heavy or too much responsibility, he seems supremely comfortable with it. It seems to keep him humble, since he knows that change and hope are not about him, but about what he represents.
Of course, now the real work starts. There’s a bittersweetness to this election, in that the mess of the last 8 years is not going to be easy to clean up. It feels like we’ve had an abusive uncle in the house for eight years, and carting him off to a nursing home doesn’t fix the holes in the wall or the flooding in the basement or the damage he’s done to our standing in the neighborhood.
But, the work has to be done. In his victory speech, Obama said “Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope”
Amen, brother.
We’ve now given him the power act on those ideals, and to start the cleanup. But with the power, the corruption clock is now ticking, and not just for Obama, but for the Democratic Party too. We’ll need to clean up the mess of the last eight years quickly before the corruption sets in.
2 comments
PGregory Springer
He did it, as you say, Dan. But as he said in his victory speech, we did it. And we will have to continue to do it, to sacrifice and face the work ahead. Even here in Mexico City, people are aware of the significance of the election. Very nice column.
jjarse2
I thought it was an excellent way to show the world how American democracy is supposed to work. Both sides can fight hard—maybe too hard during the campaign but in the end, it all comes together. I was at the rally in Grant Park and everyone was cheering for John McCain during his consession speech. No sneers or boos—-no hard feelings. That’s the way it’s supposed to be, right?
Most Recent Opinion Comments
Curtis Orchard is always good for an hour or three, especially if you have rugrats.
eugh….I remember that sex ed class and i’m pretty sure I know the teacher you’re referring to. that place was hell.
Love the story about sex ed at the middle school. That’s what I do every day for my job—it’s so exciting to see students engaged in material many adults and parents assume is above their understanding or maturity level. Thanks for sharing! Oh, and if you…
“Rag Doll” by Aerosmith is a great accompanying song when you are throwing a tennis ball onto the floor to bother the people below you.
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/agriculture/2010-09-01/south-farms-taking-aim-birds-noise.html If U of I did any research into repelling birds, they would use a very silent but effective high output LASER instead of adding noise pollution to the already olfactory polluted area http://www.allpestco.com/2009/06/laser-bird-deterrent-or-laser-gun-vs-birds/
“I have some reading to catch up on, poolside.“ Classic.
What sticks in my neck is that most noise (unwanted sound) is a violation of the law. So why is it often so difficult to get the authorities to address the issue? Why are the anti-social elements so protected? These lowlife induviduals now seem to have the…
Spirit echoes - http://www.iainandjane.com/work/silentsound/index.shtml
People are entitled to peace and quiet. That gift has been lost and once lost is hard to regain. Anti-noise activitists fight for everyone’s right to have peace and quiet. Thanks to those that fight for our right to peace and quiet.
Most Recent Comments
Illinois has simply had no luck at all in these Mizzou games. None. I think maybe we’re do for a couple of bounces to go our way. If we get one or two (or sever or eight) breaks, I think it’s a win.
Jason, Savoy could easily join the CPL tax district, which is probably closer to most Savoy residents than the Tolono library is. But my impression is that Savoy residents as a whole don’t want to pay the cost of the CPL (Tolono’s library taxes are cheaper), even…
Sorry, but I am lagging behind on updates to the map. Also, some construction projects were delayed from their original start date. On a more positive note, I am putting together a map of haunted houses in Central Illinois. I have a few plotted already, and I…
I’ve never gotten the privilege of all the services CPL cardholders get. I just want to be able to go out of my way to drive to the CPL to check out books, pay fines, maybe buy some coffee, and enjoy the library. None of those activities…
These days, there is more to using a library than checking out books. At one time, paying into the Lincoln Trails system probably would cover the expenses incurred by other libraries in the system. Now, with Internet, videos, coffee shops, wireless Internet hubs, etc., I suspect the…
(speaking as a Savoy resident) By paying taxes to support a member of the LTLS, we are paying our “fair share” to use any LTLS library—Tolono, Champaign, Urbana, etc. This is how library systems work. The 6% of CPL’s circulation represented by Tolono users is NOT significant…
I read Timbo’s argument. I think the key word is “speculating.“
I would be interested to hear more about the “word on the street”—how are individual hauling companies fulfilling their promise to recycle?
Timbo makes a smart, sound argument. Reread it.
I joined on 09-09-09 after living here over a year, and having to listen to my dad tell me how his best friend is, like, #27 or something crazy like that, and how said friend never lived further than 50 feet from the Illini Inn while going…
And, I might add, no one is being prevented from using the Champaign library. They are just being asked to pay their fair share if they are going to use it as their primary library.
The equation is pretty simple here. If you want social services, then pay the taxes required to run those social services. These things only work if everyone puts in their fair share. As a heavy user of the Champaign Library, I say bravo to this new policy.
Curtis Orchard is always good for an hour or three, especially if you have rugrats.
What is the increased marginal cost of serving a resident of Savoy or Mahomet? I suspect negligible. What is the increased revenue to be realized by this new policy? I suspect very little. Aside from these financial aspects, what are the most probable results from this new…
Looks like you are also all members of the killer sideburns club.
Thanks for the article, Ben. I was not familiar with this band until now and even though I won’t be able to attend the show on Friday they are now on my radar. A *good* jam band is hard to find, and these folks appear to fill…
Nice article, love the Dead quote in the beginning. If they can get down here to Central FL I’ll definitely be heading out to the show. Some of my friends have finally stopped wincing when I say “jam band.“ I’ve now tried my best at more descriptive…
@Annie: Yeah, my bad. That was the best part! Drinking + memory exercises = fun @Rob: According to Ask the English Teacher, “My dictionary says ‘drunk’ is an archaic past tense of ‘drink.‘“ We’re all about the new grammar around here.
Katie, have the residents of Savoy and Tolono thought about having their taxes raised a little to help their public library expand? That’s a possibility for them. And then everybody wins.
good call on that Herring recording, Josh. Love that version of Exit Music….here’s a clip of the Cinco de Mayo show (from about six months prior). As I recall, this Shakedown went on for roughly a half hour, while getting into the Trampled Underfoot jam in the…
Most Popular Articles (14 days)
- Camp Rantoul Report: August 20, 2010
- Withershins: the hardest working band in Champaign
- Champaign to close recycling drop-off center
- Pygmalion schedule changes, Emeralds and new Erin Fein project added
- The Burlington Coat Factory Mosque
- Meet the new blog on the block
- CU Pride Fest review
- Flatlander fundraising off to a tasty start
- The right thing changes from state to state
- Garbage doesn’t just “go away”
Recent Searches
- 1592 (7 Results)
- Susan Toalson (3 Results)
- Gabe (4 Results)
- Bond (97 Results)
- Bond (97 Results)
- Gabe (4 Results)
- bond (97 Results)
- bond (97 Results)
- dan schreiber (34 Results)
- gillespie (129 Results)
- Men Against Sexual Violence MASV (1 Results)
- 8684 (1 Results)
- Men Against Sexual Violence MASV (1 Results)
- great cover up doug hoepker (13 Results)
- great cover up (589 Results)
- C-U Circle (32 Results)
- 4130 (1 Results)
- elsinore (123 Results)
- elsinore (123 Results)
- ryan groff elsinore (35 Results)
Facebook
Twitter
Full Site
Events Calendar
Sorry, but I am lagging behind on updates to the map. Also, some construction projects were delayed from their original start date. On a more positive note, I am putting together a map of haunted houses in Central Illinois. I have a few plotted already, and I…