What Obama said

I am struck by the angry response I’ve heard from some people to Sen. Obama’s speech in Philadelphia – some of it being rhetoric as vitriolic and hateful as that spouted by Rev. Wright. Why?

What did Sen. Obama ask for in his speech? Reparations? Forty acres and a mule? Special dispensation for African-Americans? Did he point the finger and say “It’s your fault!”? No.

He asked us all, regardless of color or social status, to think differently, to walk in each other’s shoes and try to understand other’s experience as a member of society.

That is not easy. As Sen. Clinton says on the campaign trail, “Change takes work.” I agree with her and would add that it is neither comfortable nor orderly. It often elicits fear and anger. It means reaching across the artificial boundaries of our worlds to better understand one another.

How? By just asking, “What’s been your experience?” and listening without judgment. Gathering around a diner table and saying those things we only say in private.

I grew up as a white male in the turbulent 1970s when it wasn’t popular to be a white male. Many judged my book by its cover and assumed I had special privileges or held certain beliefs. They often said things that were offensive or ignorant. I learned not to react with ardent rhetoric, but to ask “How do you know that?” I found that nothing is clearly black-and-white. It is often gray and that’s where the truth lies.

As a nation we face serious challenges, and voter turnout demonstrates everyone is taking this election seriously. Yet we cannot move ahead as individuals, but instead must walk together. As Abraham Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

Tom Battin

Bangor