Just How Far Have We Come?

A stereotype is defined best as an automatic overgeneralization or perception of certain characteristics or labels regardless of accuracy. With the recent inauguration of President Barack Obama, I began pondering more about this issue. Post-election it seemed that everyone was celebrating the changes of our nation and true, we do have the first African-American president, but really just how far have we come? In the days of the Civil War, discrimination and stereotypes began to become more apparent in society. The North hated the South; the South hated the North. But now, we have pushed stereotyping to a whole new level. Prejudices are all around us. No longer are we just stereotyped by our location, but people are stereotyping people for any little thing that differs from them. The Civil Rights Movement tried to decrease this, but it still exists. In some ways, I can see the stereotyping more now that Obama has been sworn in as President. I hear constant negative remarks about him and it leaves me left wondering if we, as a nation, will ever be able to overcome what the past generations have left behind.Reverend Joseph Lowery gave the benediction at President Obama's inauguration. Lowery, known for co-founding the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Martin Luther King Jr., used this time to ask God to encourage America to make "choices on the side of love, not hate, on the side of inclusion not exclusion, tolerance not intolerance." He then ended his prayer with a famous notation from the 60's by saying, "Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right." How can you go from an encouraging prayer to ending with that statement?

Racial stereotyping and discrimination still exist, but why is it always just that the black cannot get ahead and that the white are always wrong? Each separate race has different prejudices against others. It is not just the whites that are not embracing what is right. Too often than not, I hear more negative racial comments about whites than certain other races. For example, the song "My President is Black." The song states, "Obama for mankind. We ready for change, so ya'll let the man shine. Stuntin' on Martin Luther, feeling just like a king. Guess this is what he meant when he said that he had a dream." The song continues to say, "Our history, black history, no president ever did nothing for me. Had to hit the streets, had to flip some keys so a n**** won't go broke." I do not believe that MLK's dream was just to see an African-American in power. I believe that he wanted equality for ALL people. How can we ever have equality if we continue to use negative slang to refer to different races? The past should not still be bearing down on our futures. Why do we choose to let situations of the past allow us to still discriminate? We have made progress, but in order to change, we need to change ourselves. We need to be able to accept people for who they are, instead of judging them by their skin color, their background, their religious affiliation, their sexuality, etc. God created us all different, but in his eyes, we are all the same. Why can we not be the same in each other's eyes also?

I find it ironic that President Obama was sworn in using Abraham Lincoln's Bible. President Lincoln faced the greatest internal crisis of any U.S. President. Facing a nation divided by racial stereotyping, Lincoln used his first inaugural address to call for unity, arguing that the U.S. Constitution was created to "form a more perfect Union." Lincoln is probably one of the most controversial presidents in history. The nation was split on their opinions of him. History books tell us that he was a very hated man by many, but had the support of many others. Despite the hatred, Lincoln was able to reunite the Union and the Confederacy and to create changes including freeing the slaves. Like Lincoln, maybe President Obama will be able to fix the damages of the past and make more progress by shattering stereotyping.

Many people are not happy with the outcome of this past election and do not support President Obama. Whether you voted for him or not, he is still our President. Romans 13:1 reads, "Let every soul be subject unto higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God." President Obama being inaugurated is God's will. Pray for him and his family and that he will be able to make the decisions that this nation needs. Maybe he is just the change that we have needed.