Posted by
Bernard James on Sunday, July 13, 2008 6:03:18 PM
The current presidential election cycle is one that is truly historic in nature. The first black (or at least half black) person is the candidate of a major political party. One would have to say that the country has come along way since the civil rights marches of the 1960's for this monumentous event to be occuring. At the same time however I must marvel at the "dream" that has not been achieved. Martin Luther King longed for the day when men and women would "not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character". To understand a man's character you must look at his life in it's totality. What are the choices he made, and why. Whom does he associate with..and why. Does what he say match with his actions? Are his accomplishments consistent with what he claims as his values?
With Barack Obama I wonder what Martin Luther King would think. I doubt if Martin Luther King would ever say "God Damn America" as Reverend Wright has done. I doubt that he would approve of Barack's association with Bill Ayers of the Weatherman terrorist organization. Barack's accomplishments are dubious at best. His autobiography would definitely make one wonder about his judgment and character even accounting for the indiscretions of youth. And now after gaining the democratic nomination by running as far to the left as any candidate he is running quickly towards the center. Before anyone should believe he is a centrist I would like to see a decade of legislation proving it. His actions do not match his words. His talking points do not match values he previously espoused.
I fully believe that what Martin Luther King stated is correct. We should judge a man by the content of his character. We will cease to be the great nation that we are as long as the media distorts or hides relevant facts so that we have the information to discern a man's character. We are not a color blind society. If we were we would not see 90% of one race voting for a man of the same color.