2.27.2007
Real roots
News source: Calling for change, Obama makes it official
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The Obama candidacy brings up many contentious issues applicable around the world. Being the first 'black' to run for the U.S. presidency, Senator Barack Obama has already broken multiple records and misconceptions - a great achievement for someone with the middle name 'Hussein' in post-9/11 America.
Much controversy surrounds his race. As usual, humans attempt to classify and categorize down to the last detail. This mindset encourages segregation and discrimination, despite conclusive scientific proof that race has no clear biological basis. The perceptions of some are reliant on a psychological divide. America and the world has had its fair share of racism, from South Africa to Nazi Germany, fractures have been driven through the essence of humanity to fulfill the desire to differentiate superiority.
Americans often praise their country's constitution of freedom, but are they truly a land of opportunity where all are welcome? The same people who demand their right of freedom of expression can turn around to oppress a minority view in the same sentence.
Living in multi-cultural Singapore, I have been educated and bred under the banner of equality and meritocracy since birth. This has not given me an identity crisis, but instead empowered me to transcend boundaries and see further than people from homogeneous societies. It allows me to walk on a street in a foreign country and spot fellow Singaporeans from a mile away. Of course, tensions between groups are hard to alleviate. And of course, without any groups, there would be no tensions to alleviate. Even Singaporeans should be acutely aware that ours is neither a perfect society nor a system without prejudices.
This nurturing of an undefined spirit is more important than any grades in school. One cannot blame teenagers in America for holding racist opinions, since these are imposed on them by society and environment from birth. Racism is only skin-deep, reflecting the shallowness of the people who practice it. It is an illness, plaguing society at large. The crux of the problem, therefore, lies with teachers and parents to lead by example.
Obama claims to be an African-American, but his ancestry is as ethnically diverse as the people of America, themselves migrants. His father is a Kenyan Muslim, originating from the Arab states. His mother is a white American, originating from Europe. His stepfather and half-sister are Indonesians. The beauty of this is incredible, but with the preconceived notion of racial stereotyping, some are absolutely blind. Whites and blacks alike condemn him as neither white nor black. These attitudes are the driving factors behind the deep-seated racism in today's world.
Obama is testament to how far we have gone to remove the divide, and also gives us a hint at how much more there is to be done. While we hail him as an example, we must not forget to follow him. When one realizes how superficial racial separation is, roots and real roots don't quite matter as much.
# posted by splot @ 23:11 
