A More Perfect Union in A House Divided

I am writing this because I was truely moved by this speech. I wonder how people think it can be so easy for us to move away from discrimination or the anger that black people feel after all they have gone through for many many generations. Rememebr, African Americans did not come to this country by choice. They did not purchase a ticket on any ocen liner or airplane. One analogy I like to make is to ask how easily a 30 year old woman can try to 'forgive and forget' her step father who raped her when she was a teenager. Forgive, maybe, but forget, no. Think about it? The typical white person wants to move past slavery and the Jim Crow laws and leave it all as relics of the past. Whites just want to move on. But in the urge to move forward many forget that it is not a process that is so simple. Anger, frustration and resentment linger. For the white folks, slavery and discrimination is 'water under the bridge', for black folks slavery and discrimination is 'water over the dam'. (what happens when water goes over a dam ?) You get the picture.

OK let me get to my analysis. A House Divided Abraham Lincoln uttered those words in a speech made 150 years ago. The speech was the famous "House Divided" address with which he accepted the Republican Party's nomination as a candidate for the U.S. Senate. Lincoln lost, but started to change and re-frame the national debate on slavery. Two years later he headed to the White House.

Similarly, another politician from Illinois addressed the issue of race over a century later. Barack Obama's "More Perfect Union" speech this week was an exercise in courage and as he took a huge risk directly addressing America's race issue. Wow, of all the issues affecting the race to the White House, none is as difficult and potentially self damaging as pointing the spot light right on the country's deep racial wounds.

For those who may still not appreciate the gravity of his act, let me illustrate. It's like a political and historical version of a husband saying to his wife, "Oh yes honey, I think at this point in time with all that is happening we need to address WHY I slept with that other woman ten years ago." A touchy subject no doubt, fraught with minefields. The husband will say, "hey can't we just get this past us?", dream on.

Now, Barack could have played it "safer" and skirted the issue like all other politicians ? Absolutely, If he wanted to play the conventional political game. But then again, he is no conventional politician. No, in that speech, even for those who are conservatives or racist will agree that he was being genuine in describing the anger and resentment that blacks feel in America. The pain and hurt linger. How could it not ? When will Mrs. Spitzer be able to "forgive and forget" the governer? Probably not in this lifetime.

Now there are many commentators out there who have praised his speech and some who have called it an outright fraud. Well, I can see a a bit of their perspective. Barack maybe did not condemn his preacher enough, did not fire him from his campaign etc.....tried to use rhetoric to explain horribly ignorant thinking etc...... Many white, blue collar workers are going to be put off by this. Barack did not go far enough to condemn the man and his message. This is all a bit unfair, because if you do look at the issue, see Rev Wright speech, he was condemning the ugly, the America that stops black men for no reason aside for being back, that executes more black men in proportion to whites etc,.......