So, I have to admit it. I am a HUGE Barack Obama fan. I am just incredibly inspired by him and I feel that he offers our country a much needed sense of hope. I hold a BA in Government and an MA in Women's Studies - I am educated, politically involved, passionate about issues concerning women's rights, stem cell research, gay rights, health care reform and much more. I am very proudly a liberal, a feminist, and a democrat.
I am not naive or easily swayed by Obama's eloquence. I believe in him and I believe that he believes in what he says and what he believes he can accomplish. Perhaps even more important, I believe in the vision he has for our country. I believe in the sense of hope and possibility that he seeks to provide.
I recently did an activity with my middle school students provided by Teaching Tolerance which was called "Do Identities Rule?". (Great site by the way -- www.teachingtolerance.org) The idea of the activity was to illustrate the differences between our individual beliefs and the beliefs that pundits think we should have based on our gender, race, ethnicity, party affiliation and religion. Out of the 15 of us that participated in the activity, none of us were supporting the candidate that the pundits dictated that we should. I, as a white woman, was only supposed to support Hilary Clinton. Most of the white boys in the room were "supposed" to support McCain. Based on the pundits requirements and the identity characteristics of the students, no one participating was "supposed" to support Obama. Ironically, 13 of the 15 participants were supporting Barack, the other two - both boys - were supporting Clinton.
Kate Michelman, a well-known feminist, was criticized for supporting Barack Obama instead of Hilary Clinton and accused of turning her back on the women's movement. Her response was incredibly thought-provoking. She said: "The women's movement is about free choice, self-determination and challenging a status quo that fails a lot of Americans, not just women. And it is not about going along. It's about transcending, about having the freedom to follow one's heart, about creating and pursuing new opportunities, and about the American dream being for all Americans."
I think that Michelman is right. I think that her quote, and the results of our activity, speak to the inaccuracies of politic pundits, of assumptions based on qualities like race, religion, etc. I believe that the "supposed to" rules erase our right to personal opinions, passions, etc. As an educated white woman, I am "supposed" to support Clinton. I have nothing against her but I also don't feel moved by her words, I am not inspired by her, I am not excited by the possibility of positive change and I am not filled with a sense of hope. When I listen to Barack Obama -- and when I read both of his books - I do feel these things.
The link below is to the will.i.am video based on Barack Obama's victory speech after the New Hampshire primary. When I look at the people of all different races, genders, ethnicity, backgrounds, etc. that have come together because of their belief in possibilities, their sense of hope. The video, and Barack's words, illustrate for me the very best of who we are and who we can become -- as individuals, as communities and as a nation.
Please watch it -- listen to Barack Obama's words -- and hopefully you will also find hope!
1 comments:
I find the outrage by some feminists to be illogical. They make it seem like voting for Barack is denying your gender. It's so ridiculous. That's like saying that black people can only vote for black people, or Latinos for Latinos. It's patronizing. We can think for ourselves. It's not that I don't support a woman being President - it's that I don't support this woman.
The last eight years under Bush have been a dark chapter in American history. I almost gave up hope altogether that I'd ever be in a time where we'd have a leader as inspirational as JFK or RFK - and yet here we are. I think Obama will do more to repair the damage to the reputation of our country than any other candidate, and that's why I'm supporting him. He represents our nation as it is today - not as it was ten-twenty years ago (Hillary), or more (McCain).
YES WE CAN.
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