Easier Said Than Done
By Kevin D. Moore
It's funny. Nothing is ever as easy as it seems.
Take, for example, the 2008 Presidential Race. I once said, "Don't judge a book by its category." The point of that statement was that we should not vote for someone simply based on an associated category. In other words, don't vote for someone based on their race, gender, religion, or political party. Vote based on their position and stance on the issues.
Well, I'm sorry to say it but this is proving to be a lot harder than I want to admit. As a matter of fact, it is proving to be extremely difficult and painful. Specifically, the pain and suffering that I am experiencing is due to the conflict created by pride, inspiration, perception, and the issues. In other words: Barack Obama.
Now, I must be perfectly honest and frank. I do not agree, I repeat, I do not agree with all of Barack's positions and stances on the issues. And, based solely on all of his positions on the issues, I would not normally vote for him no matter what category he is in.
I mention categories because there is one category that he and I both share. We both look like and are considered Black/African Americans. Of course, given my previous statement about what should and should not dictate how a person should vote, the fact that he and I share a category should not affect my voting rationale.
But, I am finding this to be easier said than done. There is a part of me that is prideful and proud that a man in my racial category could one day be the Leader of this great nation during my lifetime. If he wins, I believe that many like racially categorized people as well as many others would be inspired to follow their dreams and would believe that anything is achievable in this country. I truly want to believe that we all have come a long way and have made tremendous progress towards looking out for our fellow man.
Additionally, I believe that if Barack wins the perception of this Nation in the eyes of the rest of world would greatly improve. This win would demonstrate that American, for the most part, has overcome many of the problems that have plagued us since the days of "human owning human."
Thus my dilemma. Do I not vote for him because I am not completely aligned with his positions on the issues or do I vote for him because we share a category and, if elected, I believe that his election could truly inspire any person that has felt like a minority in some way, shape, or form (e.g. race, gender, religion, etc?)
Hmmm, not using categories sure is easier said than done.
Copyright © 2008 Knowledge Driven & Moore LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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2 comments:
Don't vote solely based on the issues. His position on some of the issues may change over the course of 4 years - it seems everyone's does to some degree (getting out of Vietnam, "read my lips", etc.). The other question on issues is - which candidate *does* align the most with your views? I suspect that no one aligns 100%, so you're already having to compromise some when voting. You're really making slight compromises in one area to bolster a belief in another area.
As a person without a year-long tan, I want to say it's entirely appropriate to vote for Barack for reasons other than the issues. I also don't agree with him on all of his policy positions, but I believe he can unite and engergize the country to a degree we have never seen before and that is worth a great deal. And in the United States, the president is not a dictator. He or she doesn't get to make all the rules. So yet policy matters, but not to the exclusion of every other concern.
Go Barack!
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