I was sitting in my car, waiting to pick Zoë up from school, when a bumper sticker on the car in front of me caught my eye. On it was a picture of a reverent-looking Martin Luther King, Jr, and above him it said “I HAVE A DREAM”. Next to that picture was a similarly posed picture of President-elect Barack Obama. Above him, it said “I AM THAT DREAM”. Immediately, I wondered “really?!”
Now, I don’t have Dr. King’s speech committed to memory or anything like that, but I’d say his “dream” is best summarized in this famous sentence . . .
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
Keeping in mind that no bumper sticker and no pithy turn of phrase can fully capture a sound argument, I have to wonder . . . as we now sit on the precipice of seeing our great nation’s first black president inaugurated, is it time to be satisfied (as Americans, and especially as African-Americans)? Is Barack Obama the very Incarnation of “The Dream”? I’m gonna say “no”, and if we think that it is, then our interpretation of the dream is far too small and our vision limited.
Not only that, but Senator Obama’s election may be a strong attestation to the fact that we’re not there yet. Dr. King said that he dreamed of an America in which his children (and, by extension, all black people) would be judged according to their character, not their skin color. Amen! But what’s do so many black people say today in their jubilation that Mr. Obama was elected?
He looks like us!
Am I saying that every single black person that voted for BHO did so just because he’s black? No, of course not. What I am saying is that his blackness was certainly a huge factor in his garnering of virtually the entire black vote, and the primary factor in the great black emotional outpouring we’ve seen since Election Day. Isn’t this yet another way that someone can be “judged by the color of [his] skin” instead of by the content of his character? Or does black skin, like love, “cover a multitude of wrongs”?
Please don’t misunderstand me. I think that it’s pretty cool that our citizens have finally gotten to a point where, after over 200 years, they’re willing to elect something other than a white guy to the Presidency. But I also think that MLK’s dream is more than that. And while great strides have been made toward the realization of that dream, Barack Obama ain’t it . . . and I’m willing to bet that we won’t truly see “it” anywhere outside of or before the coming Kingdom of Christ.
14 comments ↓
I voted for him because he looks like me.
I’ve been thinking that, if you trace the arc of race relations in this country as a five-act tragedy, Obama’s election is only somewhere in Act III. I voted for Obama because of his character, but I’m certainly not convinced that many others did so for the same reason.
Ah, I am SO glad you posted this! I couldn’t agree more!!
[...] Is Barack “The Dream”? — raewhitlock dot com (tags: gfmorris_comment) [...]
Nice Post. I am a Black American male. I consider myself neither a republican or democrat. I voted for Obama because I feel he was the best candidate and I agree with him on his proposed foreign affairs policy and how he plans on tackling the economic crisis. If McCain would have beat out Bush in the 2000 Primary’s I will admit I was planning on voting for McCain at that time.
While some people out there did vote for Obama because he’s Black, others voted against him for the same reason. With that said, no we have not achieved “The Dream” although we as a country have made progress but I feel we have ways to go.
I think this election has taught us that anything is possible in the USA and that is what makes us who we are.
You know, I wonder how many people actually voted against Obama because of his melanin levels. I don’t think it would be as many as we’d assume; for example, Western PA recently became infamous because of the racial epithets residents used to describe who they would vote for.
Those people used racial slurs as a matter of course, but still voted for the man because they considered him the better candidate. Call me crazy, but it almost sounds like those folks are living Dr. King’s dream (without even realizing it).
I’d still like to take a bar of soap to their mouths, of course, but I think they offered this election cycle’s strongest example of “The Dream” come to life.
— Matthew 21:28-31 (ESV)
I’m with you, Rae. I think some people of many different skin colors voted for Senator Obama, not primarily because they considered him the best candidate, but because “this is America’s chance to prove that we’re not racist.”
I think maybe those people missed the point.
Right on Rae, good stuff.
Well said. Couldn’t agree more.
While Obama isn’t the means to an end, I think it does mark a milestone. And I think people should celebrate because it is a mark of progress.
I feel outnumbered in a sea of blue right now, but that’s okay with me. Nothing could possibly have convinced me to vote for Obama. Not because he is black, but because if we as American citizens had listened in government class, we would know Obama’s promises are ridiculous for him to say that he will do. Also, I think he needs to spend less time working on his campaign and more time working on his morals.
My opinion in a nutshell: Barack is not “the dream,” but quite possibly a nightmare.
You’re such an antagonist, RW. Yes, Obama is Luther’s dream, as measured against your quote -
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
I think it’s safe to put forth the notion that the election of the highest office in this nation can accurately distill the ‘judgement’ of a nation – in this instance the nation judged, in no small way, to elect a man by the content of his character, and not by the color of his skin.
Remember, if Obama had garnered only the typical black vote for a democrat he still would have won the election. This extended far beyond the black vote, and that’s why it is a realization of the Luther dream.
I prefer the word “cynic” to “antagonist”, Ben.
Seriously, though, I see where you’re coming from and I concur to a degree. My main issue is this — it seems that MLK’s dream, while it’s being realized more and more in the largest segment of the populace (white people), it seems that the opposite happens with his own people! That truly puzzles me.
Good thoughts, Rae. I am in complete agreement.
We need to pray for Obama’s conversion. I just finished reading his book, The Audacity of Hope, and his view of Christianity is very troubling. He really doesn’t get it.
More: http://www.paross.com/wp/?p=9
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