Obama: American Goodwill Outweights Negative Reactions

Yes, there are still racial problems in the US….The growing numbers of incidents being reported is an indication of stubborn "aberrations of intolerance" and do not at all represent the mindset of most Americans.

[Post Election: Rejecting The Backlash]

It has only been two weeks since the tremendous goodwill and massive celebrations across the nation that resulted from the election of Barack Obama to be the 44th President of the United States. When positive change happens, there are always forces of negative reaction.

Yesterday, the Associated Press reported that “Obama has received more threats than any other president-elect.” In addition the AP stated, “Incidents around the country referring to President-elect Obama are dampening the post-election glow of racial progress and harmony, highlighting the stubborn racism that remains in America.”

But let’s not rush to conclusions that somehow the progress that Obama’s election verified did not also signal good steps forward toward healing America’s historic racial divide. The fact is the majority of Americans, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native and others all voted for Obama to be the President and did not allow racial prejudice or hate to be a decisive factor.

The Inauguration on January 20, 2009 will usher in the Obama Administration as millions of people in the US and throughout the world continue to celebrate this change and transformation with joy and great hope.

Don’t let anyone or anything steal your joy and hope. Carrying the weight of the past only hurts you. The world is either a beautiful sweet place full of opportunity and hope where everyone can dream and fly or it’s a place only full of strife and pain that keeps shackles on your feet and mind.

Beware of the cynics who prefer to cast the negative stones of the past. We are not yet a perfect nation or society, but I know that we are getting better everyday. We should not let all the weight of making America a better place fall only on Obama’s shoulders. The new President will need our involvement, our giving, and our prayers.

Yes, there are still racial problems in the US, but sometimes we respond to racial incidents in a manner that does nothing more than cause more polarization rather than work to eliminate racism in all of its manifestations. The growing numbers of incidents being reported is an indication of stubborn “aberrations of intolerance” and do not at all represent the mindset of most Americans.

The positive and uplifting spirit of the African American community and all others of goodwill will not be broken by these latest random acts of madness.

Obama’s victory was a victory for all people and for all Americans. The pendulum of history now has swung too far toward equality and inclusiveness for any of us to permit group or individual acts of racial hatred to entice the majority of the people to start stepping backwards rather than to keep marching forward.

The bad societal remnants of the past should be buried. Let’s work harder to plant the right seeds in the consciousness of all people and let’s give Obama our active support.

 

Simmons is an entrepreneur and pioneer in hip hop music and publishing

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *