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I didn't say she didn't earn, but this country that is supposedly so blind to the hardships of minorities and the not-so-well-to-do gave her the opportunity to earn it.
I didn't say she didn't earn, but this country that is supposedly so blind to the hardships of minorities and the not-so-well-to-do gave her the opportunity to earn it.
ONLY after the generation of her parents FOUGHT for those opportunities. They were not given freely. They were achieved ONLY after a long a brutal struggle to convince White America that it was WRONG to withhold those opportunities - LONG after those with a lighter shade of skin had been taking them for granted. If the generation of her parents hadn't DEMANDED those opportunities (and been willing to risk jail and death to achieve them) chances are she wouldn't have ANY of those opportunities.
Just as independence for America as a nation didn't come for free, neither did any degree of racial equality for Blacks. People PAID for those opportunities - and you don't have to go back very far to be at the point where the payments were being made.
Ken
Last edited by LordBalfor; 06-16-2008 at 10:54 AM..
Even McCain thinks, """ It Can be tough to be proud of USA"
Indeed.
The fact is, America is NOT a simple place and one's perception of it will be colored by one's experiences - which in a nation of 300 million people and 3, 000 miles can vary widely.
It's much like the story of the 3 blind men and the elephant. Folks with different experiences will have different opinions as to just how worthy of pride America truly is. Just because someone else's perception of America is different from yours does not mean that perception is wrong.
Just like many other nations, America has done PLENTY to be proud of - and PLENTY to be ashamed of - and much of your perception of which outweighs which will depend on what you, your friends and family experienced.
... if you grew up taking for granted the fact that you were assured the right to vote - and that no one to try to prevent you from doing so
... if you grew up taking for granted the fact that you didn't need to worry about whether or not you would be able to sit at the counter in the local restaurant
... if you grew up taking for granted the fact that real estate agents wouldn't try to redirect you away from the nicer areas of town towards those more appropriate to YOUR kind of people
... if you grew up taking for granted the fact that the schools you attend would get the same level of funding as those of the kids across town who happened to have a skin color lighter than yours
... if you grew up taking for granted the fact that you would be offered jobs commensurate with your level of education and skill, rather than lower-paid menial jobs
... if you grew up taking for granted the fact that you could choose where on the bus you wanted to sit
... if you grew up taking for granted the fact that you need not fear that men in white hoods might come in the middle of the night to lynch you because you had the audacity to make a pass at an attactive woman who was not of your race
Yeah, I suppose if you grew up taking for granted all those things, if you didn't have mothers and fathers and aunts and uncles who had to fight (and sometimes die) to achieve all those things that others in your country had LONG taken for granted then YEAH, I suppose it wouldn't be that difficult to parse the difference between such simple phrases.
The fact is, though the country is MUCH improved in these regards, growing up Black during the time Michelle Obama did was still a LOT different from growing up White. Even if she didn't experience racism personally, she surely heard about the racism her older relatives had to endure.
You know what they say about walking a mile in someone else's shoes.
You should try it some time.
Ken
sigh. . . . another poster that turns patriotism to a discuss on racism so quick it give me whiplash.
"For the first time in my life I'm proud of my country" -- Obama's wife. Try again without bringing in racism. . . or at least be relevant and show that Obama's candidacy is more important than any of the race gains made prior.
sigh. . . . another poster that turns patriotism to a discuss on racism so quick it give me whiplash.
"For the first time in my life I'm proud of my country" -- Obama's wife. Try again without bringing in racism. . . or at least be relevant and show that Obama's candidacy is more important than any of the race gains made prior.
It's easy to be patriotic when you are the top dog and your country has been treating you well.
It's a bit harder to think of your country that way when it's not been treating you that great.
That doesn't mean you don't love it, but you may not be so very proud of it.
One of John McCain's remarks was: “What we have to do is tell our friends around the world that we will be proud of America because of what we’re going to DO.”
Really John? Just what are you going to DO? Give us 4 more year of Bush nothingness? Hell, you AREN'T going to DO anything! Four more years of Bush nothingness will DO us in, for sure. You're just going to keep us on the same sorry-assed road we've been on for 7+ years now. Are you going to FIX Social Security? (Bush gave it about 15 minutes, then gave up.) Are you going to FIX health care? Are you going to close the border? (Hah!) Are you going to FIX the Veterans Administration and FIX the mess with health care for our wounded soldiers? Are you going to FIX the mess in New Orleans? Well maybe not New Orleans, after all, "Brownie" did a heck of a job down there, didn't he? Just what is John McCain REALLY going to do? Short answer: Keep on bending over America.
Can you all please stop commenting on what Michelle said unless you are going to use her exact words?
“For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country, because it feels like hope is making a comeback… not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change."
Now, can you please tell me how what she said is different from what McCain said? What was so unpatriotic about that?
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