| This article, "No He Can't," by Anne Wortham, Ph.D. gave words to my feelings about our new president. I recently discovered her article dated November 6, 2008. I guess I am blind. It is all over the internet. Please understand: I voted for Mr. Obama. I am not one to write-in names on a ballot (unless it is "Mickey Mouse") and I was not going to vote for the other candidate who I thought looked a lot like George W. Bush. But even in voting for Mr. Obama I felt a discomfort. Dr. Wortham's article speaks to my feelings. Consistent with Dr. Wortham's comments, my vote was not about color or race. I did not want my vote to seem like I was voting for a black man for president...I was voting for the best alternative (such as they were).
I was appalled by the reaction of many in the US and around the world that somehow the election of Mr. Obama, a black man, was seen as new era, or a turning point in America, or the announcement of a fundamental change in American attitude. What difference does it make if the president is black or white or yellow or red or male or female or....??? The issue is the person. |  Left to Right: Allan C. Brownfeld, Anne Wortham, Jay Parker Anne Wortham is Associate Professor of Sociology at Illinois State University and continuing Visiting Scholar at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. he is a member of the American Sociological Association and the American Philosophical Association. She has been a John M. Olin Foundation Faculty Fellow, and honored as a Distinguished Alumni of the Year by the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education. |
