Lucia

de Vernai

Read Lucia's bio and previous columns

January 21, 2009

Get a Grip, Because the Change is Up to Us, Not Obama

There is a black man in the White House. In case you missed out on this detail, even Sen. Dianne Feinstein reminded us of the president’s race during her presidential inauguration speech, saying that Barack Obama taking office is “the moment when the dream that echoed across the street finally reached the White House.” Then there was a parade, a ball (featuring Beyonce!) and judging by the crowd reactions, they lived happily ever after. 

Capitol Hill resembled Disneyland, filled with joy and anticipation for more of the same rampant fascination with fictional expectations and two-dimensional characters. As much as the country needs to stop living the multi-trillion dollar make-believe of George W. Bush, the escaping into idealistic anticipation for Barack Obama to be the second coming that ends discrimination and prejudice in American politics is exactly the kind of hope this country does not need. Great expectations need to be tempered with the large picture of Washington reality.

Obama is black, but those who think that he’s going to pay special attention to race as the dominant factor in his politics should look at who he chose to surround himself with. If Joe Biden's perpetually exposed veneers don’t blind you, you will notice that the system has not changed too much. This doesn’t mean that his presidency is not historically significant: Obama’s presidency is the kind of progress of which Martin Luther King Jr. would have been immensely proud, but let’s let the man move in before we hail that he will fulfill the Dream. He hasn’t been tested yet, so let’s hold off with the verdict and first see what actually gets done.

Unavoidably, somewhere along the road between states’ rights, congressional spending approval and months of bipartisan maneuvering, the crowds brimming with enthusiasm on Inauguration Day are going to get impatient. The magic Obama could work with his campaign staff will be slightly harder to pull off when competing interests divide his attention and public office calls for all dreams to be equally important.

Barack Obama is no longer an African American Democrat. The dream so many are sure he is bound to fulfill is that of all American people, and it will come as an unpleasant surprise to many that American people want very different things. Those thinking they got one of their own (whatever that means) in are also headed for a rude awakening. A common trait, like race or gender, should not lead to discrimination . . . especially in policies and priorities of a leader.

Obama’s dream is different now because he is the president, not the black president. Ideally, we will judge him not by the color of his skin but by the content of his character. At least that MLK Jr. guy seemed to like that idea. Bringing the dream to life is our responsibility, not Obama’s, and as much as America needs hope right now, it needs to prepare to be the change, not wait for prince charming.

Click here to talk to our writers and editors about this column and others in our discussion forum.

To e-mail feedback about this column, click here. If you enjoy this writer's work, please contact your local newspapers editors and ask them to carry it.