Affirmative Action

Affirmative Action

In thinking how to start this I came up with nothing but “dead air” as they say.   No witty quotes or timely passages from an astute author.   Instead all I can say was…

I was moved.

I remember back to when I sat and watched him deliver what many assumed would be an answer to his relationship with an extremely divisive figure in Reverend Jeremiah Wright.   On the surface there was the answer to the question, why maintain a friendship that seems to cause more damage than help.   But the speech was about so much more.   That singular speech put the spotlight on a problem that has plagued our county since its inception.   We have fought and warred over race.   We have lost countless lives and injured millions more in the name of race.   We have bloodied our own soil with the blood of our fellow countrymen, all for race.   But even after all the strife and the struggles I ask the question are we better off?   Have we actually gotten anywhere?   I think that the obvious answer is, yes. Years of struggle freed the slaves and gave them a voice in our country.   The Civil rights movement helped to shape our nation and gave President Obama the opportunity to reach our nation’s highest office.   Along with the constitution the Civil rights movement set the foundation for millions of immigrants to come to this great land seeking shelter and a new home.   All of this and so much more equal an incredible achievement.   All of that is in the history books.   It is something I learned growing up but it held no power over me other than a key to America’s past.   I have seen video of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech, but I didn’t see Dr King speak.

But in the scope of my lifetime the single biggest achievement in the name of race has been the ascension of Barack Obama.   Starting with that speech I felt as if my generation now had a voice that could speak to the generations of the past.   The fact that The President is such an incredible orator of course plays a...