Student SPHere 2008-09

I am amazed and ashamed by the American public and the American news media. In proclaiming with such doting enthusiasm on having elected the “first African American President,� all that is being accomplished is pointing out just how far America has to go in its fight against racism. What would truly be a “historical election� is one in which a minority candidate is elected and nobody cares. If America is truly “color-blind� then the color of a candidate’s skin will be about as noteworthy as the color of his or her eyes or the straightness of his or her teeth. But, no, apparently we as a nation have not progressed that far. Apparently to a majority of Americans, the most notable thing about Barack Obama is not the fact that he is educated, having attended Columbia University and Harvard Law School, nor is it the fact that he has made great strides to end social inequities while working as a community organizer, or that he has contributed to the betterment of education as a professor at the University of Chicago Law School, and served his country as a senator from Illinois. Apparently it is far more interesting and vital to the accurate depiction of Barack Obama to constantly babble about the fact that 23 of his chromosomes are the result of a sperm that was manufactured in the testicles of a man from Kenya. Yes, that is clearly the most noteworthy aspect of this venerable man. Thank God the helpful news anchors and columnists are being so helpful as to point out that oh-so-critical fact. Let’s all pat ourselves on the back now and completely ignore the fact that our very infatuation with this man’s racial origins only points to our failure as a society to stamp out the bigotry that has so plagued our nation from its very genesis. I am glad Senator Obama is our President-Elect, but it is too bad that the election of such a worthy candidate must be tainted by such ubiquitous race-consciousness.