If it does happen, will it be remarkable for the Caribbean as well?
October 27, 2008
At first we were told schools would be closed for only half the day, but on Friday my son’s teacher announced school will be closed the entire day on Election Tuesday. My son’s school is a voting station, and the school’s administrators fear the huge voter turn-out will disrupt classes.
An expected huge voter turn-out will shut down the school for one day. Imagine that. My sister is so full of the historic feel for the day, that she’s taking her two children into the booth with her to help her pull that fateful lever. Pundits and polls alike predict America may most likely elect its first Black president. But a week or so away from the day, I—a Caribbean woman—wonder what that means for me? What does all this mean for us Caribbean people who live here in the United States and who want to be recognized as a group–like Cuban-Americans, per say–with concerns here as well as outside of the United Sates?
We, for instance, are just as concerned about paying our mortgages, and about our children’s education, as we are about debt write-offs in Haiti, Guyana, and other struggling nations, and we’re concerned about help to stem galloping crime rates in the Caribbean. So should we get swept up in the throes of America’s potentially historic political moment or not?
Fortunately (or unfortunately) the answer is yes for those of us who have been “Americans” for long enough to understand and fully appreciate the significance of a Black man becoming the President of America, and for those of us with strong financial and familial ties here. We may see in the possibility of America’s first Black president the sign of more tolerant times. We may see in the possibility of this particular Black president the sign of a more genuine concern for global affairs. And we can’t help but be caught up in the positive feel of things.
So, on Tuesday, like my sister who’ll have her babies in each arm, I’ll take my sons with me to the voting station so they can tell their children and grandchildren (if they are so blessed) that they witnessed one vote that may have counted towards the moment. And I’ll hope that they’ll be able to tell them it was a remarkable moment for the Caribbean as well.
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5 Responses to “If it does happen, will it be remarkable for the Caribbean as well?”
Got something to say?
Do you think Obama will suffer from the Bradley effect?
I guess we’ll be able to tell if people avoid the cameras after they have voted—a sure sign that they didn’t vote the way they said they would.
c.d. You might be correct about that..or a poker face will do.
Here is an interesting article from Huntley Brown I came across the web. It’s robotic-fools like him who ushered Bush into power and it’s sad to know that he’s not alone.
Why I Can’t Vote For Obama
By Huntley Brown
Dear Friends, A few months ago I was asked for my perspective on Obama, I sent out an email with a few points. With the election just around the corner I decided to complete my perspective. Those of you on my e-list have seen some of this before but it’s worth repeating…
First I must say whoever wins the election will have my prayer support. Obama needs to be commended for his accomplishments but I need to explain why I will not be voting for him.
Many of my friends process their identity through their blackness. I process my identity through Christ. Being a Christian (a Christ follower) means He leads I follow. I can’t dictate the terms He does because He is the leader.
I can’t vote black because I am black; I have to vote Christian because that’s who I am. Christian first, black second. Neither should anyone from the other ethnic groups vote because of ethnicity. 200 years from now I won’t be asked if I was black or white. I will be asked if I knew Jesus and accepted Him as Lord and Savior..
In an election there are many issues to consider but when a society gets abortion, same-sex marriage, embryonic stem-cell research, human cloning to name a few, wrong economic concerns will soon not matter.
We need to follow Martin Luther King’s words, don’t judge someone by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I don’t know Obama so all I can go off is his voting record. His voting record earned him the title of the most liberal senator in the US Senate in 2007.
NATIONAL JOURNAL: Obama: Most Liberal Senator in 2007 (01/31/2008)
To beat Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton as the most liberal senator, takes some doing. Obama accomplished this feat in 2 short years. I wonder what would happen to America if he had four years to work with.
There is a reason Planned Parenthood gives him a 100 % rating. There is a reason the homosexual community supports him. There is a reason Ahmadinejad, Chavez, Castro, Hamas etc. love him. There is a reason he said he would nominate liberal judges to the Supreme Court. There is a reason he voted against the infanticide bill. There is a reason he voted No on the constitutional ban of same-sex marriage. There is a reason he voted No on banning partial birth abortion. There is a reason he voted No on confirming Justices Roberts and Alito.
These two judges are conservatives and they have since overturned partial birth abortion. The same practice Obama wanted to continue.
Let’s take a look at the practice he wanted to continue
The 5 Step Partial Birth Abortion procedures:
A. Guided by ultrasound, the abortionist grabs the baby’s leg with forceps. (Remember this is a live baby)
B. The baby’s leg is pulled out into the birth canal.
C. The abortionist delivers the baby’s entire body, except for the head.
D. The abortionist jams scissors into the baby’s skull. The scissors are then opened to enlarge the hole.
E. The scissors are removed and a suction catheter is inserted. The child’s brains are sucked out, causing the skull to collapse. The dead baby is then removed.
God help him. There is a reason Obama opposed the parental notification law.
Think about this: You can’t give a kid an aspirin without parental notification but that same kid can have an abortion without parental notification. This is insane.
There is a reason he went to Jeremiah Wright’s church for 20 years.
Obama tells us he has good judgment but he sat under Jeremiah Wright teaching for 20 years. Now he is condemning Wright’s sermons. I wonder why now?
Obama said Jeremiah Wright led him to the Lord and discipled him. A disciple is one in training. Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19 - 20 “Go and make disciples of all nations.” This means reproduce yourself. Teach people to think like you, walk like you; talk like you believe what you believe etc. The question I have is what did Jeremiah Wright teach him?
Would you support a White President who went to a church which has tenets that said they have a …
1. Commitment to the White Community
2. Commitment to the White Family
3. Adherence to the White Work Ethic
4. Pledge to make the fruits of all developing and acquired skills available to the White Community.
5. Pledge to Allocate Regularly, a Portion of Personal Resources for Strengthening and Supporting White Institutions
6. Pledge allegiance to all White leadership who espouse and embrace the White Value System
7. Personal commitment to embracement of the White Value System.
Would you support a President who went to a church like that?
Just change the word from white to black and you have the tenets of Obama’s former church. If President Bush was a member of a church like this, he would be called a racist. Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton would have been marching outside.
This kind of church is a racist church. Obama did not wake up after 20 years and just discovered he went to a racist church. The church can’t be about race. Jesus did not come for any particular race. He came for the whole world.
A church can’t have a value system based on race. The churches value system has to be based on biblical mandate.. It does not matter if it’s a white church or a black church it’s still wrong. Anyone from either race that attends a church like this would never get my vote.
Obama’s former Pastor Jeremiah Wright is a disciple of liberal theologian James Cone, author of the 1970 book A Black Theology of Liberation. Cone once wrote: “Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him.
Cone is the man Obama’s mentor looks up to. Does Obama believe this?
So what does all this mean for the nation?
In the past when the Lord brought someone with the beliefs of Obama to lead a nation it meant one thing - judgment.
Read 1 Samuel 8 when Israel asked for a king. First God says in 1 Samuel 8:9 “Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.”
Then God says
1 Samuel 8:18 ” When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.” 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.”
Here is what we know for sure.
God is not schizophrenic
He would not tell one person to vote for Obama and one to vote for McCain. As the scripture says, a city divided against itself cannot stand, so obviously many people are not hearing from God.
Maybe I am the one not hearing but I know God does not change and Obama contradicts many things I read in scripture so I doubt it.
For all my friends who are voting for Obama can you really look God in the face and say; Father based on your word, I am voting for Obama even though I know he will continue the genocidal practice of partial birth abortion. He might have to nominate three or four Supreme Court justices, and I am sure he will be nominating liberal judges who will be making laws that are against you. I also know he will continue to push for homosexual rights, even though you destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for this. I know I can look the other way because of the economy.
I could not see Jesus agreeing with many of Obama’s positions. Finally I have two questions for all my liberal friends.
Since we know someone’s value system has to be placed on the nation,
1. Whose value system should be placed on the nation.
2. Who should determine that this is the right value system for the nation?
Blessings, Huntley Brown
While one may not agree with Huntley Brown, his/her piece does not reflect a “robotic-fool.” Many well informed Christians, who are very aware of the issues of race and history in this election, would also agree with the view of Obama’s positions on these controversial issues. From an orthodox, Biblical position, Huntley Brown cannot speak otherwise. Ultimately, even though those of us who share African American, Caribbean, Hispanic etc history and social background want an Obama victory, ultimately, where serious faith is concerned, conscience must cast the final vote. Whatever our perspective, let us spare a prayer for Obama and the overwhelming challenge that will face him if he enters the White House. But, as Huntley Brown says, as euphoric as this moment is - faith in the Christian truth says there are larger, eternal issues that are finally more important. It is in that larger, more consequential context, that we ought to try to see and understand race, politics, economic crises etc.
And finally, to share Brown’s position is not to say an unthinking yes to those of the far “Christian right” who translate their faith into military imperialism, old unrepentant racism, environmental destruction and all that seems represented by Mccain-Pailin (and John Hagee and others like him.) who can see nothing wrong with the stubborn, arrogant actions of the Bush-Cheney regime.