The article is about a teenager in Oak Park named Catherine Vogt. Since the Obama campaign was preaching tolerance and togetherness, Catherine decided to test how open-minded her classmates and teachers really were.
So just before the election, Catherine consulted with her history teacher, then bravely wore a unique T-shirt to school and recorded the comments of teachers and students in her journal. The T-shirt bore the simple yet quite subversive words drawn with a red marker: "McCain Girl"
The article goes on to explain how many of her classmates says she deserved to die for wearing the McCain shirt. To me, her classmates easy to dismiss because they are, after all, teenagers. What surprises me is the reaction she got from one of her teachers. Catherine notes, "In one class, I had one teacher say she will not judge me for my choice, but that she was surprised that I supported McCain." I love this quote because it typifies our culture today. In essence she's saying, "I'm not going to judge you, but I am judging you." (Don't get me started on the phrase "with all due respect".)
So what's my point in citing the article? Once Obama is inaugurated I really feel there could be some backlash for anyone who criticizes him. Considering our racist past, we have achieved a milestone in our nation's history. However, that doesn't mean we should throw our brains out the door and canonize him. It's great that people trust the President but we might be crossing the line by believing he is going to solve all our problems.
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3 comments:
Right, and that's why Obama, in his acceptance speech, implored the nation to help him to bring about the change they all desired. Some of his proposals reflect this, such as his plan to offer tuition money to those student willing to work community service.
As for the reaction of the other kids to the shirt, frankly I wouldn't be surprised if the condemnations came from grown adults. Politics in this nation are very polarized, and even those claiming to be peacemakers still end up adopting a form of nasty political tribalism. Both sides would do well to tone down the rhetoric, and keep open minds about the arguments from the other side and the failings of their own candidate.
Of course, I did suggest earlier that McCain voters be set on fire, so maybe I'm not one to talk.
I do love what he said about expecting students to do some community service. But I think there's a disconnect between what Obama is saying (which is mostly realistic) and what people expect from him (which is completely unrealistic).
I was thinking about this a little more realized that if Obama ends up being a successful 2-term President the Republican party will lose our generation for a very long time... and rightfully so.
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