CHICAGO,IL -
Around 10:30pm November 4th, I watched as the television networks called the presidential election for Barack Obama. The streets that were filled with crowds of change supporters erupted with elation. I watched as the entire world celebrated for this man, but more importantly a change.
The change I am referring to is not what the Obama campaign slogan was, but a change in how progress seems to have taken an enormous step towards equality. As I looked at the faces, it dawned on me exactly why the republican party ended up in the loss column.
The faces of the crowd in Grant park in Chicago and across the world were a rainbow of color and cultures. White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Arab & Indian all stood together in unity of celebration that most people like myself never thought they would see in their lifetime.
What was it about the Obama campaign that brought passion into the hearts of so many people across the globe.
It was the fact that people have come to know one another in way like never before. Forty years ago in this country, blacks and whites lived in different worlds even though sometimes they were separated only by a few blocks. They was no interaction other than the black doorman opening the door for the white business man. No one knew what made the other tick.
We know live in a world where all cultures interact and share private moments with. I have friends or colleagues that I talk to on a daily basis, that are from all walks of life. I am the type of person who is not timid about asking anything. I learn so much about people that my curiosity has grown with everyone I meet.
I have learned to appreciate all forms of music, entertainment and cultures. That is what the republican party has failed to do.
I watched this campaign and even though Mccain and Palin had supporters that were of different races, their campaign was ultimately unintentionally focused toward white Americans. I first noticed this with the absence of Black leaders within the party. There are none plain and simple. Everyone of the republicans staples of leadership are all White men.
Secondly at the rallies it was all about small town America. It was about the farmers. hockey moms and Hank Williams Jr., all of which to minorities in this country is no connection. I did try an watch every time Palin or Mccain would have a rally but was quickly turned off by a serenade by Hank Williams bashing liberals. With celebrities like Wilford Brimley and Elisabeth Hasselbeck the base is limited to a select few.
Sarah Palin would talk about how happy she was to be in some town that I never heard of because the people their had the same beliefs she did. The "real America" is what she called it. If that was real America, where the hell was I at? The fabric of America was some place that had a population less than the University I went to.
Different GOP websites had pictures of Barack Obama with a turban on his head, and painted him as a Muslim. Not a terrorist, but a Muslim. I immediately though,t so what if he was, why does that matter? Some of my closet friends are of the Muslim faith, and I imagined how I would feel if someone made Christianity look like it was something to be feared rather than respect.
There was no effort to attract anyone that was not of the Caucasian variety. I'm sure if you were a White conservative you felt quite comfortable in a sea of other White people listening to Hank Williams blast away on the microphone, while everywhere you looked there were hockey moms for Palin signs held high.
The attack on Jeremiah Wright also resonated with Black people differently than Whites. I saw it as a man that had a stage to vent his frustrations with a system that has moved at a snails pace for equality among Americans. "God damn America" was a statement that went along with why America has gone through catastrophes and terror attacks because of the wrong they have done. So no it's not God bless America, it's God Damn America. It was an inappropriate thing to say, but it was not meant in a unpatriotic way. Pastor Hagee who supported Mccain made similar statements but those were not brought up by the Obama camp.
Someones faith or their place of worship should not be brought up at all. Where you worship is your personal choice and should not be dissected. It was looked upon by Blacks as an attack on the African American church. I know Wright personally, he is not a racist but more of a foot in mouth person, a gaffe machine if you will. He cares for people of all races and religions, but fights for the rights of Blacks because he is one.
Everything about the Mccain campaign wreaked of old White conservatism. Small towns, hymn singing and long dress wearing conservatism. It's what most people under forty years old would see as boring.
The different environment at Obama rallies had excitement and energy. Stevie Wonder blasting through the speakers. Bruce Springsteen for the over thirty crowd and introductions by Robert De niro, Chris Rock, Scarlett Johansson, Ben Affleck and Oprah. All of which a variety of races can relate to.
If the republican party wants to have the power it once did, they need to find a way to reach more that just White conservatives. They must reach out to people of all races and support causes that are important to them. I actually consider myself a person in the center than leans to the right, but the magnetism and appeal from the Obama campaign drew me over.
I hope that republican party will make a change to move a little to the center. I think a balance of power between the two parties is best for the country, but if the democrats are even remotely successful over the next two years it maybe a long time before the republicans will have another shot at the melting pot that is the American people.
By Tim Shipman in Washington
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