(even) more on the racial angle of Obama's victory

Following what I blogged about this morning...

"White America" misses a lot of this...

Not that I'm an expert, but as a labor economist who has studied discrimination and as a father who has been encouraged to look into such things because of adoption, I feel comfortable saying that (to some [large?] extent), we don't "get it"...


From James Taranto of the WSJ (hat tip: Eric Jensen)

....The 2008 election proves that our country has made a lot more racial progress over the past few decades than many people thought it had as recently as a couple of days ago.

At one time--let us say 1964, before the passage of the Voting Rights Act--it would have been fanciful to suggest that America could elect a black president. Forty-four years later, America has done just that. At some point along the way, a barrier fell.

We would argue that the barrier fell decades ago--that by the 1980s, or the '90s at the latest, anti-black bias had receded to the point that the right black candidate could have been elected. There is no way to prove this, of course, but today no one can deny that the barrier fell by 2008....

John McCain made the point eloquently in his concession speech:

I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that, too.

But we both recognize that, though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound.

A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters.

America today is a world away from the cruel and frightful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States.

. . . Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.

Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country.

Some months back, Michelle Obama came in for a lot of criticism for saying that her husband's success had made her proud of her country for the first time. It was a clumsy and small-minded thing to say. But perhaps it expressed a wider truth.

If today millions of black Americans have a new pride in their country--in our country--that can only be good for America.


And some outstanding points from Chuck Colson's Breakpoint (hat tip: Linda Christiansen)...

Over the last few days, I have been besieged with calls from Christian friends in deep despair over the election. I understand the feeling. The President-elect, along with his newly strengthened allies in Congress, opposes almost every pro-life and pro-family position conservative Evangelicals and conservative Catholics have fought for so hard....

Deep despair? At this point? That almost certainly results from idolatry...

First, this is the new President's hour. And we should be praying for him. Major decisions which affect the welfare of us all are in his hands.

Second, we ought to take pleasure in the joy expressed by African-Americans over Obama's election. They have fought hard for civil rights, and now one of their own is President....

We should also be pleased at the jubilation around the world at the election of America's first black president, which has smashed the stereotype of America as an oppressive white superpower throwing its weight around. This could build unprecedented good will for us among many other nations...

Third, this may be a teachable moment for all of us. Ever since the 1960s, liberal political leaders have built their power bases by telling minorities that they are the exploited victims of racism.

Tragically, many African-Americans feel, rightly or wrongly, that there is nothing they can do to help themselves except to elect politicians who promise to pour money into their communities. All these politicians have done is feed the grievance mentality and stay in power; the poor remain as poor as ever.

Obama's election shatters that delusion. How could any young African-American any longer believe that he is destined to a life of crime and poverty simply because he was born black? Obama's election demonstrates that America truly is the land of opportunity for every citizen regardless of the color of his skin, the circumstances of his birth, or the community from which he comes. If this new attitude takes hold, I could see us rebuilding the pits of despair and depression that many inner cities neighborhoods have become.