Reflecting on Obama’s Win

A week after Obama’s win and I have to admit that I am still ambivalent. Yes, I voted for Obama but I couldn’t participate in the wild excitement that swept over the country. The excitement, while legitimate, focused way too much on the promise of racial reconciliation as if by his very existence racism is dead. However, anyone following the vitriol spewing from LGBT leaders in response to the news that 70% of black American voters in California supported Prop 8 will tell you that racism is far from dead.

Even looking beyond the wide-eyed dreams of race being a thing of the past, it has been difficult to muster up a conversation on what policies he will implement to address the economic crisis. The optimism is encouraging but it seems devastatingly blind as though Obama, once again by his very existence will change the world. In fact I would be very happy to never hear the words “change” or “hope” again.

Perhaps there is silence because the day-to-day issues affecting us are so pressing: Prop 8 in California, banning of affirmative action in Nebraska, and budget cuts in social services in New York to come into effect by the end of this month. We want to come together but for every bit of outrage we may exhibit towards a change in law or finance, there is someone else rejoicing.

Can people really come together in spite of their differences? Is that even necessary? The diversity conversation too often denigrates to the importance of friendships as if by being friends with someone different from me I suddenly have greater rights. It ignores one basic principal of diversity: we all don’t see things the same way. As a result we look to the government not only as the securer of inclusion but also as a supporter of exclusion.

So when Obama talks about bringing people together, he needs to emphasize the sacrifices that will need to be made and acknowledge that people view the world through various lenses that make coming together difficult. He alone can’t do much if people aren’t willing to stop passing the blame or being hateful when things aren’t going their way.

Obama has set a remarkable tone for what we can accomplish. Voting for him—an intellectual, a black man, a community organizer, an urbanite—while symbolic and I’m sure challenge for many was merely one step in a long journey toward economic and social recovery. It’s critical that we get more involved. We shouldn’t just be reading about his promises for the economy; rather we should be reading critical texts about economics in general. We shouldn’t just be looking to him for frank discussions about race; rather we should come face to face with our own prejudices and what fuels them.