It is sad to see people who have grown up here and gone through the public school system (although that is much to say at times) are still be capable of such statements like which truly shows their ignorance and blatant racist ways. A lot of people I went to high school with know the person a whole lot better than me but just from that statement there, I think I know plenty to decide for myself.

A couple of my better friends are probably the staunchest conservatives I know but you know what, I can respect them because we differ solely on issues that matter and don’t discredit a candidate simply because of his or her name. I have told some of my closest friends that although there is a very high probability that Barack Obama is going to be elected President, the likelihood of him bringing the country together really lies in the hands of those who refuse to see beyond a skin color, beyond a guy with a funny name and refusing to accept that he may be just as much of an American as you are is what is holding this country back.

Let’s not be naive and think just because an African American can reach the highest position in our country that all of a sudden and overnight, racism will disappear. As the economic conditions of our country continue to deteriorate as they most likely will, regardless of who is President, expect to see race rise once again and those looking to prey on the weak blame this solely on a “black” man being not qualified to run a country. There is probably a chance that this will flame the fire even more in those minds of the hateful but this is where an opportunity arises. This country has a far too dark of a history to continue to ignore this issue and deem it to insensitive to brought into the spotlight.

Maybe I was too naive to think this would occur in a community where I went to school but maybe that was asking too much? Maybe this will be an educational experience that those with a different name than your Joe Smith are just as human as you, can realize this “American Dream” that everyone speaks about. To some however, this so called American Dream* comes with a fine print:

*Some restrictions apply. Not available in all states and certainly not to all races especially those with a dangerous sounding name that will threaten the freedom of America.