http://www.dailyevergreen.com/story/27396
Inauguration honors struggle for civil rights
Celebrate the victory without losing sight of remaining inequalities
Derrick Skaug
The Daily Evergreen
Published: 01/15/2009
“I’ve been looking forward to the inauguration of Barack Obama. I’ll have a front row seat in what is an historic moment for the country.” These are some of President Bush’s finest words during his tenure as our leader. Although some – myself included – may never view him as anything close to a decent leader, this statement should remind us all that he is a decent man. He is able to understand the historical importance of this election and what it means to the country.
It is very fitting that Barack Obama will be inaugurated the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Indeed, the dream has come full circle. The battle is far from over, but this election is as big of a victory as any for racial equality in the history of our country.
This election of hope seemed unimaginable when hope itself seemed to die with John F. Kennedy in Dallas. When Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, no one could foresee the inauguration of another leader of change, President-elect Barack Obama. Forty years after the untimely death of presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy, Obama’s campaign ended in transformative victory.
I am a progressive white male. Though I did not vote for Hillary Clinton during primary season, to see her elected as the first woman president would have made me extremely proud of our country. Although I have little respect for Republican Sarah Palin as a leader or the policies she supports, I would have still been proud to see a women sworn in as vice president.
My attitude goes deeper than simply having pride in token leaders. To vote for someone solely because of an irrelevant personal factor, be it race, sex, or even religion, is wrong. What this historic inauguration signals to many is that our democracy works.
People understand that their leaders do not have to have the same color skin, be the same religion, or the same sex as them.
When JFK ran for president in 1960, he had to defend his Catholic faith, stating that he believed, “in an America ... where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the pope.” Nearly 50 years later, suspecting that Joe Biden’s Catholic faith detracts from his ability to lead the country is considered insulting and childish.
Joe Biden’s election as our first Catholic vice president is progress, but religious discrimination still exists. Republican Mitt Romney had to defend his Mormon faith in 2008. Hopefully, the same progress toward tolerance will extend to all religious beliefs.
The Civil Rights Movement was and continues to be a slow, long and bloody battle. We owe our freedoms today to the Civil War, several constitutional amendments, debates, legislative accomplishments, and sadly even assassinations.
Maybe all Americans should take Bush’s lead and put partisan politics and ideologies aside. With him, we all should feel just a little pride in our country and what we as a nation accomplished in the 2008 election. I firmly believe that the sacrifices of all Americans who fought against oppressive inequalities will be honored on Jan. 20.
