posted on October 20, 2008 05:55:57 PM
Subject: Fw: When is education important?
A friend of mine sent this to me. I found it challenging because it helped me address failures on my part to be clear of racism or failing that standard, racism that I did not realize was there ,or, that I thought was contained. While the person who developed this appears to be in favor of Obama, (and I apologize to those of you who are not for Obama -- my intent is not to push a political agenda), that is not what was arresting to me when I read through it. There were other biases throughout, usually in support of those with more education or that used educational success as an indicator of higher quality, or that education delilvered by educational institutions with reputations for high quality (they also cost more) implies they deliver better outcomes in graduates. The interaction of race and education and life experience is jumbled up here and that forced me to look at the assumptions and the covert conclusions that are a part of making judgments about others. I felt saddened as I was unmasked.
My friend went on to point out, "I think (one) might also find this useful for self-reflection. I think the main thing for me (one who tries without much success, I fear, to limit the effects of his racial reflexes) was seeing how many little things I had not considered even when I thought I was being diligent."
What if things were switched around?
Would the country's collective point of view be different? Could racism be the culprit? Ponder the following:
What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?
What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?
What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?
What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?
What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe disfiguring car accident?
What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married? What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?
What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard? What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five? (The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.)
What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker? What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter?
What if Obama was the one who had military experience?
What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many occasions, a serious anger management problem?
What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution?
What if the Obamas had adopted a white child?
You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are? This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.
Educational Background:
Barack Obama: Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations. Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude
Joseph Biden: University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science. Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)
John McCain: United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899
Sarah Palin: Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism.
Education isn't everything, but this is about the two highest offices in the land as well as our standing in the world.
