Let's Dig Up a White Man

You know you hear some interesting things in the grocery store. For example, as I was loading my items onto the conveyor belt in the ‘15 Items or Less' line, I heard two people who were disparaging the ‘hype’ around the Presidential campaign. When I arrived in front of my checkout clerk, I realized that he and another employee were engaged in a discussion about the Presidential election. He said,

“I think we should dig up an old president, maybe Abraham Lincoln or Franklin Roosevelt. We can get their DNA and bring back a good president.”

The other replied, “Yeah. Cause our current President is an idiot and the one before him couldn’t keep his zipper up.”

While I respectfully believe that we all have the right to our opinions and choices, are we really at a point where we have no living candidates worthy of election? Do we need to dig up a white man? I couldn’t help but sense that the implication was that these clerks would be much happier if their choices were middle-aged white men. It didn’t seem to matter to them that they have the option of choosing from two candidates that represent diversity and change in this country. They spoke very fearfully about what would happen if a black man OR woman becomes President.

Someone told me that life is about perspective. These two employees represent the perspective that all was well and good when only white men ran this country. They also represent barriers that need to be dismantled. The Barak Obama and Hilary Clinton campaigns are exemplary of this country's move toward diversifying its leadership. Further, the comments of these clerks are a reminder that there is a lot more at stake in this Democratic election than experience or domestic and foreign affairs. Both Senator Obama and Clinton are going to have to prove to people like them that this country can not only survive, but can also thrive under the leadership of someone other than a white man.

I can imagine that this election is scary for a lot of people who are accustomed to our President looking like them, including the employees at my neighborhood grocery store. I might add, just for fun, that there have been books written and speculation that Abraham Lincoln and other Presidents may have been biracial although there are many who would vehemenantly dispute this claim, not because of DNA, but because they would like us to forget that we are products of slavery; our families seperated, our women raped and our brothers emasculated. Black blood runs through a lot of veins in this country.

So to those who want to escavate a President, you might want to do some research to be sure that the 'white savior' you wish to unearth is indeed white. I might also suggest that you pay a visit to ancestry.com, you may find that you are one of us too. Are you REALLY scared yet?