Barack And Roll

We are not the country I thought we were.

And it makes me proud.

Change is necessary. Change is positive. Change is energizing. Change is amazing.

If we didn't change as a people, women still wouldn't vote, abortion would be illegal, slavery would exist, there wouldn't be three states in a socially conservative country that allow gay marriage, alcohol would be illegal, only landowners would vote, Manny wouldn't play baseball.

But we do change. As a country, as a people, and as individuals.

No one has changed more than I have. Growing up in Burlington and attending a largely white college, I had to be 22 before I had a real conversation with a black person. I used and regularly heard the word n****r. We made up a word at BHS to describe Indians. It wasn't a complimentary one.

But then I entered the real world (i.e. The not solely white, Catholic one) and got a job that was outside the town of Burlington. I met people who went to colleges other than UMass and ate at restaurants other than the Chili's in Burlington. I even met a lesbian. I didn't catch the gayness and she wasn't really good at softball. She was one of the greatest people I have ever met and she became a dear friend. At that same job,I befriended a black woman who said she went to Cambridge College when she really went to Harvard. She just never felt like explaining to people how a poor black person went to Harvard. She was not on welfare and she didn't say "aks" and listen to Tupac. She drank beers (like me), worked really hard (unlike me), and hated Oprah (like me). She was a lot like me, only with a different skin tone and eyes that weren't the same color as mine.

Over the years, I have met Spanish people who work harder than I ever will. I have met women who smoke me in Jeopardy! and then would beat me in a 10K. I have met African Americans who never reference race and make hilarious jokes about Jesse Jackson. I have met an Asian who introduced me to the phrase DWA: Driving while Asian. I have met minorities that fit none of the stereotypes I had in 1990.

And along the way, I have also met white people who are completely color blind. They have become dear friends and they have taught me things I never thought I could learn.

Racism will never be dead in this country, particularly in pockets of Massachusetts. But tonight has shown that we are a country not stuck in the past. With education, information, and unity, we can make change. We are not the writers of 1950s text books that said women should freshen themselves up and have a drink ready for their husband when he comes home. We are not people who stereotype black people as lazy, fried chicken eating, welfare recipients. We are a group of people that cringes when we hear spick, faggot, or n****r. We understand that we are different and are differences are to be honored and embraced, not tolerated. Racism is not dead, but it's on life support and I may yet see a time in my life where it is officially gone. I never believed that, but tonight has shown me that with patience, education, and love, racism can and will end.

John McCain is not a bad man. He refused to reference Reverend Wright and he never once made race an issue. He is old enough to be the grandfather of half of us reading this post. But unlike so many younger than he; so many stuck in the past; so many clinging to archaic thoughts; so many who still dislike those that do not look like them; he has changed. While he may not know how to use the internet, a racist or bigot he is not. As I write this, he is giving a heartfelt, gracious and honest concession speech. And I admire him for that. I wish that so many of those conservatives that voted for him could change like he has. Much can be learned from John McCain and I hope that conservatives can take his great qualities and become the man that he is.

Joe Plummer is not The Real America. We have changed. We are black, white, Spanish, agnostic, atheist, gay, Indian, Muslim, Brazilian, and European. And if you don't like that "Real America," well, in the words of we liberals, you can move to Canada. Or build a time machine. Because the fifties are over. We are no longer biased, conservative, religious, European-hating, bigots. Yes, these haters will still always be in our midsts. I'll fight with them over email tomorrow, no doubt. But then I'll have a beer with them. Hopefully.

Hussein is not an unamerican middle name. People were smart enough to know that the Harvard educated, pull up his boot straps, chain smoking, son of a single parent was not a Muslim. Voters of this country know that the man called Osama by his detractors is not a terrorist or a communist. He is an American. Like all of us.

I'll complain about our country very soon, no doubt. I'll hear faggot and the vein on my head will pop out. I'll see a guy in a Ed Hardy shirt, with a chin strap beard and a blow out and I'll think about moving to the south of France. But for now, I feel good. I feel happy to be an American. I feel that while issues of race will never be eradicated from our culture, we just took a huge step in ending our racial divide.

For those of you who didn't vote for Barack, I hope your immediate rage will subside. You will see he is not a racist or a terrorist. He doesn't hate white people and he won't take your money and hand it out to those who you feel work less diligently than you. And if you can put your anger aside for a minute, think about what your country has just done. We have elected a person who will represent us with honor and dignity. He is smart, thoughtful, smart, honorable, smart, and kind. You will see he is not an angry black man who will lead our country into the ground. As I said months ago, he will not appoint Wu Tang Clan to his cabinet. He is a great man and a great American.

Those who read this know what race issues mean to me. I'm not sure why race relations have become so important to me. Maybe it's my guilt for being a racist in my teens. But maybe it's because I relaized that it is a real problem and one that is based solely in stupidity, because why should we hate those that look different than us? That is what horrible people throughout history have done. That is what stupid people do.

And we are not a stupid country. We have had our dark moments and not everyday of the next four years will be perfect, but today I feel proud. Forty years ago, Barack Obama had to drink out of a different water fountain than I did. Not because he was inferior to me, but because he happened to be born with a skin color that was different than mine.

And tonight, that same country that wouldn't let Barack Hussein Obama drink out of my water fountain just forty years ago, elected him as president.

President of the United States of America.

President of the greatest country on Earth.

And for once, I'm actually not being sarcastic when I say that.