I mentioned the US Army’s sexual assault campaign, I AM Strong, a while back. However, I wanted to provide you with some new links to the new website, that is entirely devoted to this program. It is very well done. There is a video, called “Band of Brothers and Sisters”, which does a good job of outlining their program. It is structured around three principles: Intervene, Act, and Motivate, and emphasizes concepts of team. Sexual Assault is not only a crime, but it is a crime against the army and your unit, and it therefore weakens the Army itself. It goes against everything the Army stands for.

What is particularly interesting is that the prevention part goes further then telling someone to intervene when a sexual assault is occurring, but emphasizes culture change. This is important for a couple of reasons. First, it eliminates the culture that is conducive to sexual assault, i.e. sexist language, gestures, jokes, etc. Second, however, it acknowledges that the Army has such a culture, known as Rape Culture. This is a pretty big admission, and I applaud the military for making it.

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There have been some significant writings since the election results about Michelle Obama, and her decision to be a “mom first”, and to forgo her professional career. Many have cited this as a fantastic choice, others have bemoaned the fact that she is living her career in the wake of her husband’s dreams, and so on. Recently, Roots.com and NPR collaborated to present a four-woman panel on discussing “What Michelle Obama is giving up”. Jolene ivey, co-founder of Mocha Moms, Leslie Morgan Steiner, author of Mommy Wars, Rebecca Walker, and Anna Perez, press secretary to Barbara Bush, all took part, writing articles for Root and then appearing on NPR. Go here for their articles, and here for the NPR broadcast. I have a couple comments about this.

First, I am total agreement with Walker, about the fact that Obama is not turning on feminism. In fact, she is doing the exact opposite: she is not defining her life by her job, or by her motherhood, she is defining her life by the decisions she makes in her life. This is a very profound statement, and a tenant of third-wave feminism, that women have the ability and right to do what they want, be it motherhood, a career, both, neither, or whatever.

Second, I am a little bothered by Ivey’s discussion of how the family life of the Obama’s has been up to now. She completely ignores Barack’s role as father, suggesting that Obama has been out chasing his dreams to be President while Michelle makes the money, pays the bills, and takes care of the kids. This seems pretty unfair to Barack, who strikes me as one of the more fantastic fathers in America. Here is a man who became the first black president in the history of America, and the next morning was dropping his kids off at school. Here is a man who has taken every negative stereotype about black men and totally squashed it by being a hard working, succesful, black father. To imply that Barack is not part of the equation, or to not discuss the fact that he is also giving up a portion of his role as father, is somewhat unfair. It assumes a couple things: first, that because Michelle was a working-mom, it means that she did everything, and that since Barack was a working man he was always a not-at-home Dad. And that because Michelle is going to be a stay-at-home mom, that Barack will continue to be a not-at-home Dad. This is unfair. Who’s to say that part of the change that Barack might bring to the White House may be a redefinition of what it means to be a father? I think this is already been made for African American men, but why not for all men?

This is not to take away from Michelle’s contributions to her family as working-mother. It is simply to say that her wonderful, well-behaved children are not just the product of her love and care, but also of her husband’s, and that shouldn’t be ignored.

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Barack Obama is the President-Elect. A large part of me cannot believe it, but another part of me can. I don’t really have words to actually do this moment in our history justice, but I will do my best. There are a few things that I’d like to talk about, first, Obama’s speech, second, his impact on race in America, and third,his impact on African Americans.

Obama’s speech outlined a history of America that is gradually beginning to catch on…a history of America that is not the white man’s history, but the history of people, that was inclusive, not exclusive. He mentioned how this election included whites, blacks, hispanics, gay, straight, disabled, non-disabled, and so on. This is a kind of history that scholars have been pushing for a while now, and that I try to capture through my work. As he worked his way through the last 100 years, Obama highlighted WWII, the Civil Rights struggle, the moon landing, and the technological boom. This history is not one of divisiveness; it is one of inclusion, struggle, and the overcoming of differences. His discussion was one of change and progress, one focused on “ a more perfect union”. This was not the America as Sarah Palin sees it, one that is only identifiable through small, rural towns, plumbers, and certain portions of Virginia. Obama culminated his campaign with a speech of inclusiveness, calling out to those who opposed him, thanking those who supported him, and welcoming the challenge to change America. His speech hints that this is part of the progression that America is taking.

As for his impact race in America, this could not be any more monumental. I watched an interview with Jesse Jackson, who was visibly teary-eyed at Obama’s victory speech. Jackson placed Obama in the context of the Civil Rights movement. He said that, “you must bring down the walls to make the bridges possible”, saying that the Civil Rights movements of the 50s and 60s allowed for Obama to begin building bridges. It is a theme that I think captures the concept of old world and new world politics, discussed by Bakari Kitwana, which I have discussed before. the old-world, black-white politics was one of confrontation, and of breaking down barriers, whereas the new-world, multiracial politics is one of linking people and building relationships that cross racial divides. Obama’s campaign reflected this, particularly in his approach to race. He presented himself as, in the words of Colin Powell, a candidate who “happened to be black”. In doing so, it didn’t make his “blackness” the issue, and it allowed him to reach out to a wide variety of people. When his race became an issue, he responded with a speech that confronted the issue, but did so in a way that explained the differences. He built bridges.

Lastly, is the impact on African Americans. I cannot begin to understand what it must be like as an African American to have witnessed this election. It must be incredibly empowering, to a point that most probably are unsure how to react. The most amazing effect is going to be on the youngest population. Those who are going to grow up watching Barack Obama be their president. There is going to be a whole host of people who are going to be moved by him, to do things they otherwise would have not. There is often a lot of talk in the history world about what moves history: individuals or groups. Truly, it is a mixture of both. Individuals are moved by groups to lead, and they lead groups to change. MLK led a group towards change, and that group led us to Barack Obama. A group of people elected him, and he will move another group towards change. Obama highlighted this in his speech, asking us to wonder what kind of world there will be in 100 years, what kind of change we will have brought that will make this world and our country better. As a leader, Obama has that ability to look to the past, change the present, and to have a vision of the future, and that is where this change begins.

Congratulations, Barack Obama.

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Ashleigh and I spent a little under an hour this morning casting our votes, and I hope you all spend as long as it takes to do the same, regardless as to who you are voting for.

That said, I would also like to put up a link to some of the most incredible photos of Obama on his campaign over the last two years…, and then also the companion McCain photos.

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Former George Bush Secretary of State General Colin Powell endorsed Barak Obama this morning on meet the press. This is pretty huge for Obama, since it takes a military man away from McCain, and takes someone who worked for Bush, among other things. That said, Powell most likely represents are large portion of the moderate and independent camps that are undecideds at this point. His choice for Obama should probably swing a lot of the educated and knowledgeable undecideds towards Obama. During his interview with Tom Brokaw, he gave his reasoning for choosing Obama over McCain, and I think they couldn’t be any better stated. Powell clearly spells out the reasons why it is a difficult decision, and why Obama is the right choice. It is worth reading (full transcript here):

MR. BROKAW:  General Powell, actually you gave a campaign contribution to Senator McCain.  You have met twice at least with Barack Obama.  Are you prepared to make a public declaration of which of these two candidates that you’re prepared to support?
GEN. POWELL:  Yes, but let me lead into it this way.  I know both of these individuals very well now.  I’ve known John for 25 years as your setup said. And I’ve gotten to know Mr. Obama quite well over the past two years.  Both of them are distinguished Americans who are patriotic, who are dedicated to the welfare of our country.  Either one of them, I think, would be a good president.  I have said to Mr. McCain that I admire all he has done.  I have some concerns about the direction that the party has taken in recent years. It has moved more to the right than I would like to see it, but that’s a choice the party makes.  And I’ve said to Mr. Obama, “You have to pass a test of do you have enough experience, and do you bring the judgment to the table that would give us confidence that you would be a good president.”
And I’ve watched him over the past two years, frankly, and I’ve had this conversation with him.  I have especially watched over the last six of seven weeks as both of them have really taken a final exam with respect to this economic crisis that we are in and coming out of the conventions.  And I must say that I’ve gotten a good measure of both.  In the case of Mr. McCain, I found that he was a little unsure as to deal with the economic problems that we were having and almost every day there was a different approach to the problem.  And that concerned me, sensing that he didn’t have a complete grasp of the economic problems that we had.  And I was also concerned at the selection of Governor Palin.  She’s a very distinguished woman, and she’s to be admired; but at the same time, now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don’t believe she’s ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president.  And so that raised some question in my mind as to the judgment that Senator McCain made.

On the Obama side, I watched Mr. Obama and I watched him during this seven-week period.  And he displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge and an approach to looking at problems like this and picking a vice president that, I think, is ready to be president on day one. And also, in not just jumping in and changing every day, but showing intellectual vigor.  I think that he has a, a definitive way of doing business that would serve us well.  I also believe that on the Republican side over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican Party and Mr. McCain has become narrower and narrower.  Mr. Obama, at the same time, has given us a more inclusive, broader reach into the needs and aspirations of our people. He’s crossing lines–ethnic lines, racial lines, generational lines.  He’s thinking about all villages have values, all towns have values, not just small towns have values.
And I’ve also been disappointed, frankly, by some of the approaches that Senator McCain has taken recently, or his campaign ads, on issues that are not really central to the problems that the American people are worried about. This Bill Ayers situation that’s been going on for weeks became something of a central point of the campaign.  But Mr. McCain says that he’s a washed-out terrorist.  Well, then, why do we keep talking about him?  And why do we have these robocalls going on around the country trying to suggest that, because of this very, very limited relationship that Senator Obama has had with Mr. Ayers, somehow, Mr. Obama is tainted.  What they’re trying to connect him to is some kind of terrorist feelings.  And I think that’s inappropriate.
Now, I understand what politics is all about.  I know how you can go after one another, and that’s good.  But I think this goes too far.  And I think it has made the McCain campaign look a little narrow.  It’s not what the American people are looking for.  And I look at these kinds of approaches to the campaign and they trouble me.  And the party has moved even further to the right, and Governor Palin has indicated a further rightward shift.  I would have difficulty with two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court, but that’s what we’d be looking at in a McCain administration.  I’m also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, “Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.” Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he’s a Christian.  He’s always been a Christian.  But the really right answer is, what if he is?  Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer’s no, that’s not America.  Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president?  Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, “He’s a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists.” This is not the way we should be doing it in America.
I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine.  It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.  And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son’s grave.  And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone.  And it gave his awards–Purple Heart, Bronze Star–showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death.  He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn’t have a Christian cross, it didn’t have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith.  And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey.  He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life.  Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way.  And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know.  But I’m troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.
So, when I look at all of this and I think back to my Army career, we’ve got two individuals, either one of them could be a good president.  But which is the president that we need now?  Which is the individual that serves the needs of the nation for the next period of time?  And I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities–and we have to take that into account–as well as his substance–he has both style and substance–he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president.  I think he is a transformational figure.  He is a new generation coming into the world–onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I’ll be voting for Senator Barack Obama.

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I wanted to share a couple of inspiring videos discussing the issues of race within the presidential, uh, race. Both are from Obama supporters. The first is from Donna Brazile, who discusses how far the country has come, and how she hopes that if Obama loses, it is because he is the worse candidate for the job not because of his skin.The second is from the AFL-CIO’s Richard Trumka, who gives a rousing speech about the relationship between black and union voters, and how these two segments of society have always had similar interests. He only goes back to the Industrial Revolution, but this is an issue that goes back to the 17th century, when both blacks and whites were indentured servants, and stood up in Bacon’s Rebellion against the upper classes. It was at this point that slavery began to develop. Trumka’s speech is a rousing and emotional endorsement of Obama, which is very explicit about how not voting for him because he is black is not only wrong, but anti-union and anti-worker.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-__IdzH1b8&feature=player_embedded][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QIGJTHdH50&feature=player_embedded]

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As you have probably all noticed, Katie Couric has been doing a series of interviews with Governor Palin over the past week. This evening, this one on some issues of belief was aired (some comments of mine further down):I have a couple of things to point out in this interview….both which center on the concept of choice.
1) Palin’s issue on abortion for rape victims is that she would urge the victim to choose to keep the baby. This is an interesting position for someone who is Pro-life, and therefore, anti-choice. This is the only way to answer the question, “do you oppose abortion for people who are raped?” without saying, “yes, I do, women who are raped should be legally bound to give birth to that child” because they know that is a horrible, horrible thing to say. So, even though she doesn’t want to say that she would give the victim that choice, because that would be pro-choice, she does anyway.

2) Palin stated that her best friend, who is gay, chose to be gay. It is a choice, she said, that her friend made and Palin did not. I would argue that Palin did not make that choice because she can’t. She’s not gay.Not too many people choose to put themselves in a severely under-privilidged position, facing discrimination and condemnation at every turn.

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Most people in America are excited about Thursday because of the debates, but I’m excited because BARACK OBAMA is coming TO MICHIGAN STATE!!! That’s right, Thursday afternoon, 2:30, Obama will be at Adam’s Field, on West Circle, to have a rally! I anticipate a packed house. I might skip class, because who knows how many thousands of people will be descending on that small area…

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I just wanted to let everyone know that I have suspended all blogging activity due to the economic crisis. I do not feel that it is appropriate for me to be placing personal opinions in this time of crisis. I would like to call upon my readers to also suspend all of their daily activity, and to focus only on the economic crisis. In this time of impending doom and peril, it is important that all of our mental and physical energies be put towards nothing other then the economic crisis.

(Basically, there are no words to describe how incredibly confused I am about what is happening in politics right now…that being said, the Cubs are going to the playoffs, so there will still be things to talk about…keep reading)

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Tim Wise, a well known writer on anti-racism (and a white male himself), has put up a post on his blog over at RedRoom about white privilege. I have received this or seen this linked to all over the place, so thanks to those people who sent it to me. I don’t have much to say about it, since it speaks so well on its own; but it really does get to the bottom of all those things that McCain/Palin seem to get away with that Obama does not. White Privilege. Plain and simple.

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