I hesitated to write this, I didn't want to go down rathole of politics, but I just have to. Or else think I might just burst.
"I think I'm going to head down to DC for Obama's inauguration speech in January," I told one of my colleagues yesterday.
"Oh you're just saying that because he's black." she retorted (obviously a republican).
I just blinked. I had no idea how to respond to something like that. It hit me in that instant, our spheres of comprehension, our parameters of reality, were so entirely different from each other, I couldnt' even bring myself to talk to her on the subject.
Of course it's because he's black!!! Don't you understand the enormity of what that means?! I wanted to shout.
But propriety (and my role as an HR bod) demanded a more polite etiquette than that. So i just smiled outwardly, and bit my lip inside till I almost drew blood.
But it was so much more than the race issue. It was larger than the petty and singular view of race that had polarised the country before. It marked the point in time when we had suddenly grown up, as a people, as a country. When we actually said to ourselves, that's enough of this rubbish - we are better than this. And for this, I could barely comprehend the surge of pride I felt. For this country which wasn't even my own, but to whom I felt a sense of belonging anyway. A country which had risen to the demands of the current day, and proved that the whole is truly better than the sum of its parts.
On election night, we had called everyone over for an election party. Over pizza, beer and wine, we alternately cheered and jeered at the telly, lifted by our own elation. Outside in the streets, as the news slowly unfurled, all of New York turned into a roaring continuum of excited chants and cheers. The atmosphere was contagious, spellbinding.
For the situation is more than Obama himself. It is the philosophy of unity he stands for. It is about witnessing history, in the making.
I am optimistic and hopeful, for the future that lies ahead.
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1 comment:
That's wonderful. For better or worse, America is your country. It has adopted you. Or, perhaps, you have adopted you.
You should head down to DC if you so see fit. Most of my friends are going. I wld go, too. But . . . am filing a brief and heading to India. (Yes, plans get in the way.)
No need to bite your lip. You're an HR bod but you're entitled to have your own views. If the fact that Obama is black means so much to you, then celebrate it! Race is not a bad thing . It! Should! Not! Be! Taboo! It! Can! Be! Significant! (Reminds me of my first year at law school where we discussed constitutional law/ equal protection all day long).
Caveboy
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