American Racism: So Why Isnt Obama White?

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Main body
Conclusion

Introduction

The race up to the inauguration of Barack Obama as President-in-waiting of the United States brought, once again, the issue of skin color to the front. By some estimates, the fact that Obama isnt pearly white already had the odds stacked against him in the race. It was like starting a contest with one hand tied behind the back. And hence when he did win against all the odds, the worlds perspective shifted slightly as far as his race is concerned. But the debate rages on.

Main body

According to Abraham Verghese, who is from Africa but with Indian parents, once found himself taking up this very issue with his son, Tristan. Tristan is half Indian and half Hispanic, but they all live in the US. Now the still open-minded Tristan asked why Obama, who is of mixed parenthood, was always being called black. The question stumped Abraham, but got him thinking. He finally realized the faulty perception that lumped every mixed race into a group decidedly not white. And while this social-cultural divide clearly tore the nations demography in half, its even more sinister implications lay in the fact that this divide was seemingly accepted by even the non-white population in America.

A popular saying implies that just an ounce of black blood in your lineage is enough to label you as black. Technically, this perception is deficient, since there is no standing view to the opposite that an ounce of white blood can make you white. In the long held mindsets of the pearly whites, you are either pure white, or you are something else altogether. These others cover anything from the African tan, to the Indian variation, to the Mexican hues. Actually, a really narrow definition of whites limits it just to the Caucasian race. This effectively cuts off even the Far East populace the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans from the white group. So where does this leave the mixed bloods?

Raging debates on the skin color of Obama seems to focus more on his parenthood. He had an African dad. But his mother was white. Effectively, that would make him something in between white and black. Those fueling the debates choose to see him as half black. The rest see him as half white. Its the classic scenario of half empty and half full glasses- all dependent on the observant. But why should there be such a disparity in perspective?

Nowhere, in his entire campaign, did Obama ever claim to be either expressly white or black. Quite clearly, issues of his skin color were a trivia to him. And he went on to prove that he was probably right that in the final analysis, its not your skin color that determines your success. Its something else. His very actions actually made him more white than the average white American. This statement is made in view of the fact that the current standing divide between white and other skin colors is more social-cultural than pure hue. It is more a psychological perspective that cuts right across the norms, beliefs, expectations and preferences of the society. And, with the current American demographics, it also essentially cuts right down the middle of the population.

But just what really makes one an American? If the skin color issue is put aside, several profundities emerge. It becomes clear that patriotism runs deep in the hearts of every American citizen- whether or not they chose to acknowledge, or act by it. Secondly, individual performance becomes clearly a summed up total of individual effort, not an atavistic heritage or predisposition. The free American market has scope enough for the talented, regardless of racial background. And finally, in the long run, it is those who unite under duress, who ultimately emerge victors. The recent economic recession proved that, when it swung millions of votes towards Obama.

According to Abraham Verghese, the recent victory by Obama represents a far wider-reaching victory for Americans even abroad, especially now that the country is recovering from an economic and global-popularity recession. And in his eyes, Obama could top up his victory by one day rising and publicly denouncing the black label currently attributed to him, just as he doesnt accept to be called white. It will be a great day when he calls all people, from Booker T. Washington, to Abraham Lincoln, to John Kennedy and M.L.K., equal, and essential parts of the whole that makes America great. Abraham believes that half of this and half of that makes all of us American.

From a personal point of view, being American is not a case of skin color or birthright. It is a state of the mind. I believe that there are people in the farthest reaches of the earth who are more American than the average Joe in New York or DC. These are people who see being American not as a right, but as a privilege, and work hard to maintain their worthiness of that privilege. And of such, the world has never run out of excellent examples. A cursory gaze at any history book unearths a lot of full blooded Americans. And every single day, thousands of many other individuals prove their worth for the American tag.

Conclusion

The true Americans bear no racial or ethnic tags. They bear no elitist ideologies. They are the solders who fought in Vietnam and either came back battered but victorious, or saw their last sunset in Nam. They are the solders deployed to Iraq to dethrone a long-standing dictatorship. They are the entrepreneurs and gurus at the frontiers of business, who break down records of success on a daily base. They are the lonesome astronauts who get launched into deep space, without guarantees of making it back. They are the dads and moms in every close knit family, who perpetually subdue the odds against their union. They are in every milling crowd, every street corner, every nook and cranny, every profession. Those are the real Americans.

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American Racism: So Why Isnt Obama White?

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