Nancy Giles: Yes, We Did!

(CBS)  President-elect Barack Obama has millions of well-wishers around the world, including our Contributor Nancy Giles:

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He'll be the first African American President of the United States: Barack Hussein Obama.

By the way, "Hussein" is Arabic for "good-looking." I'm just saying.

When Obama was declared the winner, millions cheered, cried and jam-packed the streets here and around the world.

What did I do? I just sat there and stared at the television.

I thought of my parents who didn't live to see this happen. Did the word spread up there?

I thought of my ancestors - slaves - considered property, not human beings.

I thought of how I'm used to voting for white presidential candidates, choosing the one that seemed most sympathetic to black folks and how I never thought a person of color would be president. Not in my lifetime.

I'm still trying to process this. Walking on the street yesterday, I looked at people's faces and thought, "We have an African American president now."

Hey, everybody! The leader of the free world is a black man! He's in charge! Hey!

My thoughts were so loud I thought I was screaming. The thing is, I never thought that Barack Obama transcended race. What a dopey idea!

It reminded me of when I was in college and one of my new friends told me tearfully that he didn't see me as black; he saw me as Nancy.

And I cried, too, thinking that college would be a holding-hands on the mountain top, Martin Luther King-like experience …

… Until I realized, second semester, that if he didn't see me as black, he was blind.

Race, ethnicity, they're not the easiest things to talk about.

Now Barack Obama is a biracial African American. Listen to what he says about race:

"Working together, we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams."

He started an important conversation. President-elect Obama faces the country in a major economic crisis. Our confidence in the government is at a new low. Despite these challenges, look at the faces on Tuesday night: Hopeful, excited. There's an electricity. Change is in the air.

And speaking of change, damn it, I'm going to get myself in shape … for something.

Can the political parties in Washington reach across the aisle and achieve some common goals for our country? That's what the majority of Americans want. And for right now, it feels like, Yes, we can!

[spares99]

Nancy Giles is a racist. She condems people with no proof, just her convictions and feeliongs and hear say.

She keeps claining people at the capital spit and called people racial epitphs and she was not there, she is going on no proof what so ever.

Kinda reminds one of the lyinchings that used to take place with the same amount of proof.

Good job Nancy, proving you are no better than the people you claim to hate.

[gotdispair]

When people like Ms. Giles define themselves by their race, they keep racisn alive. Because she is Black, it''s OK. When a white person does it, THAT gets the label of racists. If it''s wrong for one, then it''s wrong for the other. If it''s right for one, it''s right for the other. Isn''t that what true equality is all about? Judging a person simply on the merits of the his or her character?
And yes, Obama is a Socialist. Just because the rest of the world has socialist tendancies doesn''t mean he''s not one. "From each according to his ability; to each according to his needs." i.e. SHARING THE WEALTH. By the way if you don''t know who the quote is from, that''s Karl Marx, founder of the Communist Party.

[sbl211]

Bravo to Ms. Giles for always speaking the collective consciousness of all of us!!! I have a felt a strange sort of comfort this past week; one I haven''t felt politically since the 60''s ( I graduated high school in 1969). In fact, I found myself preparing a comfort breakfast of french toast with cinnamon and sugar (after the Sunday Morning Segment). This brought me back to my earlier years when life was different and the potential for social change was unbriddled. I am so thankful for our new President!!
Ms. Giles has always provided me with a look into what my inner thoughts are comtemplating. I do appreciate her commentary and always have. The Sunday Morning "ritual" for me is a tradition I have passed onto my sons. Ms. Giles segments are so much appreciated. Your staff is blessed to have her talents and abilities on board. Here''s to more french toast and, yes, with cinnamon and sugar.

Respectfully Submitted,

Steve

[montanamanda]

"Have you seen how Africans are treating each other in Africa?..." Posted by montanamanda

Irrelevant, the USA is not Africa. If that is your logic, then go there, and see if you can enslave some people. It is not legal in the US.

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Are you crazy? I am totally against slavery, my point is that it still exists in Africa of all places and always has.

[js3739]

With this election, we''ve all won.

It is a democracy and it''s clear that we are tired of the same old stuff. Now we move in a different direction. Know what? If we don''t like it, we get to vote again in another 2 years, in another 4 years.

We all win! But you get to decide, daily, to be happy or not, to help things succeed or not. You can choose to be bitter and spit, or think, "Wow, look what we did."

Frankly, I''m through listening to the fear tactics. They only make me sick. I''m all for hope!

[brianbwb-2009]

"...Sounds like racism to me." Posted by deathofUSA

Perhaps because you don''t know the meaning of the word. To recognize a history, and a present, for that matter, where people like yourself try to ignore the injustices you have benefited from, at the expense of others because of superficialities such as ethnicity, is not racism, just as knowing fire is hot is not prejudiced against fire.

"You are what you is," said the great Frank Zappa, and recognizing it is not racism. Inventing false reasons for discrimination, such as is still done, even in these posts, is.

[brianbwb-2009]

"Have you seen how Africans are treating each other in Africa?..." Posted by montanamanda

Irrelevant, the USA is not Africa. If that is your logic, then go there, and see if you can enslave some people. It is not legal in the US.

[usclimey]

So it doesn''''t matter that he''''s a socialist. Just as long as he is black. Why not Alan Keyes, Colin Powel, Condi Rice. Why this socialist? Because they knew that blacks would vote for a black man no matter if he was a socialist or not. If it hadn''''t been for the black vote, the whites and hispanics that voted for Obama would not have been enough.


Posted by deathofUSA

I have also pointed out to you many times Obama is NOT a SOCIALIST. As long as you call him such you merely show your complete ignorance of politics. Any where else in the world he would be a moderate conservative; it is merly the existence of a strong rabid right wing in this country that makes him look further left than he is.

[usclimey]

Yeah and I keep asking why that 101 year old black man voted for the first time? Why? Weren''''t any of the many candidates ever good enough for him? Did he just wake up and understand the issues we are all facing? What? What was it that made him vote for the first time in his 101 years? Could it be racism? Yeah, I think so. But that''''s ok because it''''s against whitie.

Posted by deathofUSA

Might have had something to do with not being allowed to vote for his firts 70 years by white folk. I''d certainly find it difficult to vote for a white man or woman after all that.

[erasmus81]

The question is more about why didn''''t he EVER vote before? Didn''''t he care about his country then? Is it now that he cares about his country?

Posted by deathofUSA at 12:08 PM : Nov 10, 2008

If you want to call it RACISM, go ahead. Maybe he figured it was hopeless before. Maybe he didn''t see any candidate worth voting for, that he trusted enough to make any changes. He probably figured there wasn''t any point.