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Gettysburg National Park

HAS AMERICA MATURED?

"then, thenceforward, and forever free."

(GETTYSBURG – September 18, 2008) – I think “resurrection town” might be somewhat fitting a term for the little township of Gettysburg. No disrespect. But it was here that the decisive battle was fought that would mark an end to the ways of the past and, too, a new beginning where this nation would better become what the founding fathers foresaw.

Some 160,000 soldiers from both the Union and the Confederate armies would descend on this Pennsylvanian town located just north of the Mason-Dixon line. While I shall not pretend to be any type of Civil War expert, one stroll through the town – and the cemeteries - was all that this journalist needed to at least have a clear glimpse of history … American history. Names like Abraham Lincoln, then-Governor of Maryland Augustus Bradford and Pennsylvania native George W. Meade come to mind.  

Most scholars know that as a result of this bloody 3-day onslaught in the summer of 1863, American slavery would ultimately end.

And while there are no blacks immortalized in Gettysburg’s cemeteries with statues, blacks were clearly there.

During a recent visit, historian Jean Green took members of our BMORENEWS.com team on a tour of Gettysburg. These are my thoughts: How fitting it is, just a week from the first presidential debate of 2008 between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, to take a brief pause and reflect on how this nation came to be and the progress made during its evolution.

For the first time in the history of the United States, a man of color is a serious contender to be Commander-in-Chief of what many loyal Americans view as “the greatest nation on earth”. It is quite interesting that this man, the Senator from Illinois, is not a descendant of American slavery. He is, in fact, the son of a Kenyan man and a Kansan woman who met as students at the East-West Center in Hawaii. Even more, his sister is part-Indonesian and his grandfather marched across Europe in Patton’s army.

And so, Gettysburg is befitting a place as any to consecrate what will be one of the bloodiest elections of all times. For instance, there are some who will never vote for this man who happens to be black because it is inherently against everything they have ever known. Such minds apparently have never truly considered the facts of history or “the blessings of liberty”. Some people are instead forever stuck in the rotten grave of an institutional pathology of racism that is mysteriously intertwined into the psyche of their collective DNA, forever branding a wickedness that would insidiously deny another human being the light of day by any means necessary.     

Over the past couple of weeks, the universe has served as witness to every ounce of rhetoric distributed through the mass media utilizing the sharpest verbal assaults known to mankind. Right-wingers are scrambling to find every possible cunning method of subterfuge so as to shape this election into one about anything except America’s deepest, darkest demon, truth be told. And that is race.

On a brighter side, I am glad to report, a state like Iowa – 93% white – mandated a unanimous victory for Obama earlier this year. And with the support of tens of millions of other Americans, history has already been made as he has become the realization of both Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Dr. King’s dream. And in just under two months, he might likely become President. Even more, he could lead the restoration of an ailing nation into the powerhouse it was birthed to be: “the land of the free, the home of the brave.”

Obama has already made this country proud. Despite the fear of change, Obama’s nemesis is a Republican Party that has led this country down the pathways of economic collapse and social deconstruction. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that despite meeting the technical jargon that defines what a recession is, America’s financial status is plummeting to historical lows while giving new meaning to what it means to be an American. It appears that the tens of billions of dollars used to finance an Iraqi war against “insurgents” who were initially thought to be hiding weapons of mass destruction might have been better utilized by building new schools or being more focused on an impending mortgage crisis that is leaving more victims across the nation than the Battle of Gettysburg. 

One doesn’t have to be a world-class economist to realize that between the gas and electric bill and the cost of gasoline, the cost of living is just too damn high. And the fact that we are in the midst of a hurricane season sheds very little sunlight, as the heavens have opened up flood waters on Texas, the home of President George Walker Bush. For this is the same man who failed to show concern to the flood victims of Katrina, particularly in New Orleans.

George Bush and his running mate, Dick Cheney, are so popular among Republicans that they were ostracized from the recent Republican National Convention. Nobody wants to be associated with such fumbling incompetence, an incompetence that has led the federal government this week to lend $85 billion of our tax dollars to AIG.         

Yet, across America, the average citizen is struggling to make ends meet. The working poor are losing jobs to companies afar, the price of milk and eggs are at an all time high, and savings are being depleted.

All any of us know is that something has to change. Even the Republicans know it. The evidence is so compelling that they were forced to use Obama’s “change” theme themselves.

And for the right-wingers who insist subconsciously that Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin is the new Hillary: Please!

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then guess what?

Further, if the media didn’t expose her to the same vetting that was afforded every other candidate for national office – that would be totally unfair to the American people.

For me, the Republicans are scrambling. And although certain polls reflect a close race, I am reminded that such polls have not talked to anybody I know in zip code 21217. Maybe they have asked you questions. If so, do forward your answers to doni@bmorenews.com. We’d be glad to post your comments.

However, as for this writer, 4 more years after 8 years of misfortune would be a travesty I’m not sure this country could endure. A return to center is necessary to get this country back on track. Otherwise, the 46,000+ soldiers who died in Gettysburg and the tens of thousands who have died in Iraq and every other American war might have died in vain. What’s worst is the notion of America dropping the ball because its hands were slippery with greed and arrogance.    

Step up, America! And walk in your glory. Embrace the tides of change and ride the waves of freedom. Know that all of your citizens in some way, shape or form adore your enduring ideals of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”! Know that this nation can truly meet its challenges and empower the collective by refocusing our energy and resources on making America strong from within. Know that by embracing a spirit of togetherness, we can be as strong as we want to be at home and abroad. Further, we can better lead the world through the 21st century.

As for me, I’m going with Obama. Given the arguments of both the Republican and Democratic camps, it’s a no-brainer. The way I see it, this election is really about class: the epic novel between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’. The only question for me – and you – is who will win? Given that the ‘have nots’ are fastly increasing in numbers, the outcome seems pretty obvious to me – especially in this – our “more perfect union”.   

Tags: gettysburg, mccain, obama, Politics