Post #6: Are we really progressive?

I am already tired of hearing how progressive we are now that we have elected the first black president of the United States. While I recognize the obvious significance, I can’t help but point out the hints of racism that lurk within our self-congratulation. Really, we elect humans to office and I continue to be baffled that in 2008 there is anyone who would have any need to even notice that Barack Obama is black. People are people...the color of a person’s skin is as un-news-worthy as the color of his eyes, the color of his hair, or the size of his feet. Can you imagine us talking about how progressive we are to elect a person with green eyes to the presidency? The color of the eyes and the color of the skin are both just tiny little tweaks of the human DNA.

Humans share the same blood in their veins, pumped by the same hearts in their chests, controlled by the very same brain wiring in their heads...no matter the color of their skin! How can we hail ourselves for being progressive when we even notice the color of our new president’s skin. We should be congratulating ourselves for electing such a fine human and I long for the day when race isn’t even a consideration as we interact with each other. We will truly be progressive as a nation when we are unconcerned with the race of the people in our lives and we interact with humility and grace because we’re dealing with fellow humans.