Monday, January 19, 2009

Mr. President

I can't stand it anymore.

I didn't vote for him. Had absolutely nothing to do with the color of his skin or his gender. Had everything to do with his platform and promises. One man does not change the country. One man who has, as his primary "feature" dark skin, was elected to the presidency of the United States. Regardless, he WAS elected, and in my book, that makes him nothing less than "Mr. President" with full honors. I will support him in his endeavors to make this country a better place to live.

I'm sorry if what I have to say is offensive to some. It's not intended to be, but I fully believe that President Obama was elected because of the color of his skin. (That, and the Republicans couldn't come up with a better canidate)
I can't believe we elected a man, who had as his main topic of his campaign and acceptance speech, "I'm black". Have we forgotten that the man is half WHITE? When has THAT come up as a positive in his bid for election and subsequent press coverage?
Point I am trying to make is this. It shouldn't matter that Barack Obama is black. It shouldn't matter that he's half white. This country elected a man, and unless that man was elected because he was black, it simply shouldn't be an issue. Who CARES what color his skin is? I don't. I care about what he's going to be able to do to save this country from itself. I think that as long as there's the distraction of his skin color, there is not going to be anyone watching what's actually happening in Washington. I think that he's got a wife that is not going to be anymore happy in the White House than she has been all of her life. What idiot let her start a speech at the Democratic Convention with, "For the first time in my life, I am proud of my country!"

Lest you think that I'm against the man for the color of his skin, or because he's not female, please note that I'd be in seventh heaven if Condoleezza Rice would run for the presidency! I really wish she would have....she'd have kicked both Obama's and Clinton's butts in a fair election! ;)

It worries me. It really does. I'll sit back and watch. We'll see if Obama and his followers can put their prejudice behind them. Tell me that they're not prejudiced. His whole acceptance speech was based on the "First BLACK President", and look how far blacks have come. I've heard nothing about how the white side of him made it to the presidency. I've heard nothing about the HALF black man that was elected.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this. Cut the "Black" President thing. Whodahell cares? I don't. And if one is truly not prejudiced, they don't either. All we care about is someone who can run the country effectively. Someone who can do a good job. I honestly believe that as President, Obama MIGHT be able to do just that, but he's going to have to set the color of his skin aside and get busy. There's more to running the country than being black. I've never done it myself, but I'm pretty sure that's the case.

So...all of that aside, I have this to say to Barack Obama.

Dear Mr. President,

Please know that you have my full support, even though you did not have my vote. Please know that my prayers are with you as you start this journey of Presidency, and that my prayers are also with your children, as they give up their father for the next four years.
I will not always agree with your ideas or your actions. I don't believe that bringing the troops home at this time is a good idea. I believe that if we do that, then all of the men and women that have died in the war on terrorism will have died for nothing, and that thought is too much to bear. We need to finish what we've started.
I believe that my right to bear arms needs to be protected. I don't, however, see a need to own an AK47 or any other kind of assult weapon. Gangs need to be treated like the terrorists that they are. Don't consider them to be terrorists? Wanna walk down the street in LA at night? Alone, without the Secret Service? That's what most Americans have to do to go anywhere at night, even if it's just to get to their car.

Please Mr. President. Put the color of your skin behind you and take the Presidency of the United States as simply a man, not as a "black man". Remove the label that someone's slapped on your back. It's unbecoming for a non-racist President.
Sincerely,
Charlee Turner

5 comments:

Linda McGeary said...

Yes! You do care. It wouldn't bother you so much if you didn't.

If you don't know that he has been talking about his white half, you haven't been listening. He said it over and over. "It has made me what I am."

And you're right, color shouldn't matter at all. But to a lot of Americans it does seem too, sorry to say. I think he is a smart man who truly cares about this country.

If we can all take a step back and give each other some breathing room and the new President and staff, maybe we can see some progress. Slow maybe, but nothing the size of our country, with the varying strong opinion comes together quickly or moves with grace at first.

Thanks for your speak out, it's good to be able to voice our opinion and be heard. I'm listening.

Linda McGeary said...

Yes! You do care. It wouldn't bother you so much if you didn't.

If you don't know that he has been talking about his white half, you haven't been listening. He said it over and over. "It has made me what I am."

And you're right, color shouldn't matter at all. But to a lot of Americans it does seem too, sorry to say. I think he is a smart man who truly cares about this country.

If we can all take a step back and give each other some breathing room and the new President and staff, maybe we can see some progress. Slow maybe, but nothing the size of our country, with the varying strong opinion comes together quickly or moves with grace at first.

Thanks for your speak out, it's good to be able to voice our opinions and be heard. I'm listening.

Charlee said...

Linda,
Thanks so much for your comments, and for letting me know that someone is out there reading this.

I'm afraid that I may have come across wrong. I DO care about this country! I was trying to make the point that I really do not care what race our President belongs to. I didn't care that all of the previous presidents were white, and I don't care that this one is black. I am simply tired of hearing that he IS black. I can see that he's black, I don't need to be told over and over again. Not his fault perhaps, I should probably lay the blame on the media frenzy that surrounds his race.
Just for an extra, I don't think that any term annoys me more than those relating to race. "African American", "Asian American", "Mexican American"...the only minority that doesn't put America second is that of the "Native American"...

Thanks again Linda, I love hearing the thoughts of others!
Charlee

Julie said...

Amen Sister!!!
I'm so tired of it, and so worried about what is happening to this country.
Your letter was perfect!

Anonymous said...

Agree with you and Julie on this. But I do love Sarah! I like Allen West a lot. I so hope he does not disappoint me with a scandal.
D. in Madras