A More Perfect Union

March 18, 2008

"This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign - to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together - unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction - towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren."

Senator Barack Obama, Philadelphia, PA

Why do we still need someone to remind us of these things in 2008? I saw the video of Reverend Wright's comments in his sermon. I don't agree with some of the things he said. I don't agree with racial divisiveness. I wish we were past this by now. But we're not. There are people in this country who hate and avoid each other based only on the shade of pigment. I know some of these people, of a variety of colors.

Why, with all that is going on in the world, good and bad, do we need to take time out because we still don't get it? Why do I have to explain to my son the ugly words we use to talk about one another? Why am I 40 plus years old, and still wincing when I hear the "N word", no matter who says it? Why am I still hearing the "N word", or any other racial epithet, to begin with? I don't agree with Senator Obama's pastor, but I don't assume they share all the same views. And to an extent, I understand Rev. Wright's views as much as is possible for a white woman from Ohio. I haven't lived his life. Neither has Barack Obama.

I am not sure what troubles me more. That we are still divided by race. That a man running for President has to stop talking about what he wants to accomplish, in order to defend himself regarding something he didn't even say himself. We need to focus on what we can do about the things that trouble us, the progress we need to make. And I think we need to move past the things that divide us. Not forgetting them, not ignoring them. But marking them, and then moving on to the things we need to solve now. I would like America to become and ever more perfect union. For my family and families yet to come. As long as we are still fighting over our past, we can't move into our future. good night and good luck...stimp