In this election, hiding isn’t an option. Because with the economy, the war, climate change, health care, energy independence, and pending Supreme Court nominations all at the tipping point, each person needs to make his or her voice heard on the issues. Yes, the issues — this election can’t be about who you’d like to have a beer with or who you’d want to coach your daughter’s soccer team. It’s certainly shouldn’t be about who is most like you. (Really, in what other capacity would we select someone based on them being most like us? “I’m not sure he’s a great brain surgeon, but he’s so like me.”) If you haven’t done so at this point, stop listening to party lines or following decades of loyalty, and check yourself on the issues. I’ll suggest this very good Washington Post article comparing the positions of the candidates.
I’ve made no secret of my politics, but today’s Blog the Vote round-up is based on issues. I feel comfortable with most of the ideas of my party, but today I’ll talk about one that isn’t on the checklist but has been an undercurrent throughout the campaign: It’s time to stop fighting the cultural wars of the sixties and to start addressing the cultural shift of the new millennium.
Andrew Sullivan has been instrumental in forming my thoughts on this issues, and I’ll paraphrase him now. Talking about whether there were racists who wouldn’t vote for a black man, he broadened the topic. There are some people whose racist views are specifically targeted against African Americans, but what he saw more was a general fear of approaching a minority-majority population in America — and the embodiment of that concept was coming together in the candidacy of an African American president. This idea resonated with me like no other, so let me make a few points about the cultural shift in America.
First of all, it is inevitable. Unless you want to literally divide up the country — and I’ve provided a somewhat tongue-in-cheek way to do so — this change is coming. Minorities as a group will reach majority population by 2042. By 2023, more than half of all children will be minorities. It’s time to stop fighting it and to stop fighting over it.
Secondly, I’m here on this side of the cultural shift and I can say... it’s okay. Overall, Northern Virginia is a 40.4 percent minority, so going to the Ross up the street can feel like visiting the United Nations. And I like it. My kids are exposed to all sorts of people and cultures. I can’t think of a better education they can have for living in a global society than seeing it work in their schools, their libraries, and their chain-discount stores.
My third point is that I’m living it. I’ve accepted into my family and into my heart my biracial niece. Before she blessed our lives, I thought that I was living in a diverse nation. Since she broke into my soul, I realized how little I really saw. Children’s books and Disney princesses don’t represent her color. The American story isn’t necessarily her heritage. Racism still exists. But not if I can have anything to so with it. Even if the steps are small, I can speak out, I can write, and I can vote. Hiding isn’t an option.
I owe it to my girls. Sometimes the big picture is in the small picture.
Posts
