We Have an African President of the United States
Does this really surprise you?
After watching the election news coverage, it is very apparent that many people have gained hope again in America, especially those Africans who thought they would never see this day, many in tears of joy and near disbelief- a great day for the African community and America. It is wonderful that the African community can gain hope and feel affirmed that they can achieve
success in life, here in America. I really do hope this bridges some of the great divide I see in America and gives hope to others to who feel they are disadvantaged.
The fact that America overwhelmingly elected an African president with a total black vote of only 12% means an overwhelming number of NON-AFRICAN voters put Obama in office- more than 60% of the voters where white. White people can take much of the credit of putting a black man in office. This clearly shows that America is open and has been open to people with new ideas despite the color of their skin. I'm not going to be ignorant and say we have no race problems in America because we do and always will, but I can say that America is truly a fantastic place to live and there is plenty of opportunity to create success despite one's background, color of your skin, or disadvantages we think we may have. Just look at how America loves Oprah Winfrey, she is one of the most influential and most wealthiest people in the world! Quite honestly, she may be even more powerful than the President as an African woman!
Yes, we all have disadvantages, but it is a mistake to wait for affirmation to begin your journey to success. For example I ask the following question...
Does an Asian man, Hispanic, Native American woman, quadriplegic or openly gay person have to wait until one of "their kind" gets elected to President of the United States to feel hope that they can achieve success in life? I hope not because I may never see an Asian man get elected to the high office and I'm not going to wait until that happens before I work on making my dreams happen. I will still tell my children anything in life is possible and I don't even care if an Asian ever gets elected to President of the United States. I'm proud of my culture and I'm proud of America and how it has provided a better life for all types of people.
The truth is, one's success journey usually starts with NO or HARDLY ANY AFFIRMATION. But it does start with a BELIEF IN ONESELF. A belief so strong that you are willing to bet on yourself against all odds. A crazy kind of belief that is completely illogical to most, like betting $100 on the Oakland Raiders winning the Super Bowl this year (well, not even the truest fans would do that!). This means, having the courage to sacrifice, to "go all in" as they say in poker and to invest much in oneself, even if it means many years of financial sacrifice and hardship. This means giving up the good to get the great and extraordinary life.
The ability to pursue your dream with NO AFFIRMATION- is the most impressive
characteristic about Obama, that 21 months ago, he had a dream to do something no one has ever accomplished and against many, even in his own party and African community who said it could not be done, conversations like "Are you crazy, you want to go up against the very popular and white Hillary Clinton at the young age of 47 with hardly any political or international security experience and you think you can win? Did you know that over 60% of the Democratic party is white and that the African vote only accounts for 10%?" Here is what was printed in Time on Jan 2007...
Robert Ford, a South Carolina, African-American state senator, said supporting Obama was too risky for the Democratic Party. "Obama would need 43% of the white vote in some states to win, and that's humanly impossible," said Ford. "Black Americans in the South don't believe this country is ready to vote for a black President."
Obama ended up winning not 43% of the white vote but 60%! Reality is often different than perception and maybe black America has doubted the American ability to see past skin color. I'm not surprised at all that Obama won, I was predicting it ever since the get go, not because of the issues, simply because he has a greater like ability factor- looks better and speaks better than McCain- case closed, he wins. In regards to a person achieving success in America, race is a non-issue although I know racism still exists. I'm not black or white, I'm Asian. In fact, I feel the African male has a more elevated status than the Asian man. What impresses me about Obama is his never say die attitude and the willingness to pursue his dream despite the cards being stacked against him.
If we are waiting for someone or the government to drop $150,000 on our lap and say, "Here you go, now go after your dream" or expecting all our friends and loved ones to support us 110% and wish us nothing but happy thoughts, we might as well give up our dream now. Most likely, our journey will be lonely and with little or no help. In fact, if we are married, our spouse will probably think we are crazy or perhaps our parents will too!
I like what Obama said in his acceptance speech, it was something like "We haven't done anything today, it just means we have a great opportunity." Well, we don't need affirmation to seize our opportunity because it has always been there. You just need a crazy belief in oneself, that will stick with you during your lonely journey to success to brave the unknown.
Congrats to America and its ability to elect a person to the highest office of the land on the merits of his ideals and not the color of his skin. May the 44th, African President Obama be an inspiration to us all! I hope Obama does help heal some of the resentment felt by the African community towards white America. We can't change the past but the future we can and we did!
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