Wednesday, November 05, 2008

The Election, Its Significance

As we were finishing supper tonight, grandpa had this to say about the elections.

Well, boy, come January we will have a new President, a President as chosen by the people. He will be our President not the president of the select few because we all participated in the process that got him elected. He will be the president of those who voted for him. He will be the president of those who voted for his opponent. He will be the president of those who did not vote at all because he will be the president of this nation.

One thing though, boy. You will hear many that will refer to him as our first black man to be elected as president. I never want to hear those kind of words escaping out of your mouth. He is only a man just as we all are. Therefore, he should be treated as one. He will be the 43rd person to be the president of this great nation under this Constitution.

If race should not be a factor in whom we elect then race should not be factor in our reference of him either. To do so would declare that we should have been referring to Geo. Washington as our first white president all of these years and no one ever has. If there are those who find pride in the fact he is black then, fine, that is their pride. I want you to grow up in pride, not of the color of your skin, but in pride of what you will be, a man.

Now, is this the man I would have preferred to be elected? The answer is no but my voice is but whisper in the wind as it is in every election year. Will you hear a lot of griping come out of the mouth of this old geezer for the next four years? You can be very certain of that, boy. Maybe that is the most beautiful thing of our form of government. While our voices may be but whispers in the wind there are many nations whose voices are silent.

It never ceases to amaze me that there are those who see these nations whose voices be silent as being stable nations. That may be one of the greater faults of a world that is governed by men and not women. Women are mothers and as mothers, they know when she hears nothing but silence there is trouble brewing.

This is getting away from the issue though. The point I want you to understand, boy, is that we have elected a president as we do every four years. Whether or not it says anything in regards to race relationship is irrelevant. Whether or not Obama used race as a stepping stone to achieve his goal is irrelevant now. What is important is that you understand what all of this means in regards to you as you grow up and become a man. Becoming the president of this great nation is a great achievement for anyone, regardless of skin color. Becoming a man is even a greater achievement.”

With this said he pushed back his chair and as he was getting up he looked over to grandma and with a smile said “grandma, you pamper this old geezer too much by feeding him so well.”

I burst into laughter as grandma retorted with an impish grin, “ Remember, old man, you’re not the only one who eats around this house.”

13 comments:

BB-Idaho said...

Grandpa is a smart old fellow, but
" He will be the 43rd person to be the president" must be a 'senior moment'. Most lists have George W. Bush as the 43rd. The next person to be inaugurated will be the 44th. I think...I have my own
'senior moments'..:)

The Griper said...

he grins. it was meant that way. its the way i worded it. i grant you that it is popularly thought that he'll be the the 44th but one quirk. grover cleveland is counted twice. he is counted twice because his terms was not consecutive.

Anonymous said...

AMEN, Griper. I couldn't have said it better.

It irritates me no end to hear Obama's election as some victory for black people. "Oh, he's the first black president, blah blah blah..."
I honestly think that irked me more than his being elected.

I thought we were supposed to get past race and see people for who they are. Martin Luther King believed people should be judged on the content of their characters and NOT on the color of their skin. Who cares that he's black? I don't. I'm a lot more bothered that he's a socialist, but that's another thing.

GREAT post!

The Griper said...

you were reading my mind, karen

Anonymous said...

Grandpa is a smart indded.
I'm not so sure that American can survive this creep

Anonymous said...

Hi Griper - I always seem to be the voice from "the other side" when leaving you comments. ;-) I of course mean no disrespect. . .

I personally think that Obama being black (half-black that is) is very important, and must be brought up. I actually felt like Obamam didn't bring it up enough when he was running for president. Just like I think it was significant to bring up that Sarah Palin would have been the first female VP had they been elected.

I think in order to break barriers, it is important to acknowledge that barriers exist. I'm one of those that was emotional during Obama's acceptance speech, not just because I agree so strongly with his issues, BUT ALSO because of the fact that a HUGE barrier was just broken, which opens the doors for other black people.

Did I vote for Obama because he is black? Absolutely not. But do I recognize how much something like this means for our country? ABSOLUTELY.
www.leahomar.wordpress.com
(PS - if any of your faithful readers would like to join a conversation about their opinion about media bias, I'd really love opinions from all walks of life)

heidianne jackson said...

grampa is a smart one, he is. however, i disagree that possibly women would rule better...

The Griper said...

barriers seen can be deceiving, leah. the fact he was elected declares that there was no barrier in the first place.

as for you being on the other side, shuckens girl, i'm not biased or prejudiced. :)

i enjoy your comments. and you be not alone in here either. you have allies.

The Griper said...

i wasn't implying that women would be better rulers, heidi. i was just pointing out that one seemingly quality of a woman that men seem to ignore.

that quality being that if the kids are too quiet they must be doing something they shouldn't. men will hear the quiet and just enjoy the peace without thinking what the kids might be up to.

i was using it as an anology of how it seems that the world sees these countries where there is no loud voices protesting something.

BB-Idaho said...

Still head scratching here..lessee now, the next president will be the 44th president, but he will be the 43rd PERSON to become president. Which sounds suspiciously like we had a president that wasn't a PERSON...
which would have to be either Benjamin Harrison or Mr. Spock? :)

The Griper said...

he laughs. that's government accounting for ya, i guess. any wonder why it can't balance their budget now?
here's the page. look down at the right hand corner at bottom.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/index.html

Anonymous said...

Great rant my friend.
God Bless You

Pam's Place said...

Griper, your blog is one of the best I read. Down to earth, common sense. You have a gift with words.

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