Is racism just in our past?
The post civil-rights era has been through many ground-breaking events. The most obvious, perhaps, is having our first ever black President in Barack Obama. Was it a surprise that he was elected? Do you remember your feeling, no matter what race you are, when you heard that our elected President is black? I was not surprised at all.
One could argue that it was only a matter of time before a non-white President would be elected. Others could argue it would've been racist not to elect Obama because of his race. In my own opinion, I do not believe race had a significant-enough of an influence on his candidacy to get him elected. I am neither Democratic or Republican, and my views are solely based on the candidates themselves. Mitt Romney and John McCain could have been a great Presidents. Obama proved he was a great candidate because of his public speaking and many other arguable qualities; not to mention he is finishing up his second term after being reelected.
Writers from The Wall Street Journal wrote back in 2009, "Obama won because of race — because of his particular appeal among black voters, because of the changing political allegiances of Hispanics, and because he did not provoke a backlash among white voters". It is noted that Obama probably won the appeal of non-white America. people thought it would be "cool" to have a black President. The Electoral College selected the candidate that they thought was best fit to get the country out of the mess we are in. They selected Barack Obama twice because it was their conclusion that he was the best candidate; twice. Gas prices have fluctuated over the past eight years, but not many are complaining about them now. He has made health care affordable for many Americans as well; he has not just been sitting around the Office twiddling his thumbs.
It is easy to point out Obama's race because he is indeed our first black President. Self-presentation is probably more of an influential "quick-to-judge" feature than the color of someone's skin in today's society. Everyone will always have their own opinions and judgments. We may be far past being an anti-racist society, which is likely an impossible Utopia, but we certainly have made strides in a more reasonable direction toward equality.
What do you think society will be like when our next non-white President is elected?
