A few months ago, after hearing his amazing speech on race in America prompted by the whole Rev. Wright brouhaha, I quietly placed a link to barackobama.com in my favorites over to the right. I try to keep this blog free of any major political slant because, quite frankly, it's supposed to be more about escapism than reality. So, as if it matters, that little link kind of served as my official 'endorsement' for an Barack Obama presidency to (hopefully) become reality in 2008.That said, you can't be a part of what is truly a HUGE moment in history...on the eve of a general election of HUGE importance to the future of myself and my family...and not say anything. Last night, Obama passed the threshold of the 2118 delegates needed for the nomination to become the first black candidate to head a major-party ticket in U.S. history. Truth be told, while it is an exciting statement about how far we've come as a country relative to our perception of race...the color of his skin has absolutely nothing to do w/ what makes me so invigorated by his campaign.
Throughout a grueling, frustrating five-month campaign spanning 54 contests, he shattered fundraising records, out-organized the seemingly unstoppable Clinton machine and galvanized millions of new voters in the process. He's taken a lot of flack from all comers over his rally cry of 'YES WE CAN!' and supposedly ambiguous message of 'change'...but the ability to rally so many folks around said message, to lay a foundation of re-uniting our not-so-United States, is the biggest reason i'll cast my ballot for him come November.
See, one of the biggest messages within his platform has been about accountability...not just his own, but the accountability we ALL have to make this country what it should, rather, CAN be. I like that...I like that a lot. The reality is, that no one man charts the destiny we ALL face as a country. While a Presidential candidate's stance on the issues is important, it's their ability to empower us ALL to get our collective shit together...white, black, red, blue, man, woman, straight, gay, christian, atheist, young, old, Marvel-fan, DC-fan, etc...and wrestle those issues to the ground until they meet the objectives in getting us to a place we ALL feel good about.
I'm a card-carrying, registered Democrat, but i'm nowhere near the doe-eyed liberal kid I was in College. While I most definitely lean more to the left, i've become disenfranchised w/ the extremism on both sides of the fence...so, so tired of it. The steel-cage-match-punditry you see on the cable news networks, hear on talk radio and read on the millions of agenda-heavy websites/blogs have steered us away from looking for common ground on the issues that TRULY affect us ALL. Opinions and speculation have usurped legitimate news and fact as the deciding factors in how we live our lives. It has to stop and like the B-Boys said 'we got to get it together and see what's happening'.
Along w/ my more moderate political views, i've also become what i'd best describe as a 'cautiously optimistic realist'...meaning, while I believe this man can effectively bring about the change he promises, I also understand he is just a man. I really do think he can bring us together to rise above our compartmentalized existences defined by the Limbaughs, Coulters, Frankens, Carvilles of the world...but I also understand it's our job to play nice w/ others once he has us all in the same room and get shit done.
Anyways, it's that type of rambling that keeps this blog pretty apolitical for the most part. You know where I stand, now do your homework. While the web has become a oft-inaccurate source of wiki-based and salon.com-as-fact opinion served up as news, it still serves as the easiest way to look at the platforms of both candidates on paper and do a legitimate comparison that brings you to a more educated vote. Check out votesmart.org for starters and take advantage of each candidate's website for their own personal take on where they stand.
Now that we have that out of the way, we'll return to your regularly scheduled posts about more important things like the latest 7-Eleven promotional movie tie-in and vintage sci-fi film reviews. GOD BLESS AMERICA!
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