Barack Obama For President

This is an older post that I am re-posting. With only 9 days left to the Election, it is time for the "undecideds" to "decide". I post this in the hopes that any who may have reservations about voting for a "Black man", will exhibit the courage required to go against their own prejudices and do the right thing for their families, their country and themselves.

d.


The other day at work, a friend of mine asked me who I was supporting in the upcoming Presidential election. Now this particular individual is actually more than just a friend, I consider him my Brother. He got me into the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Local # 52, which is no easy feat. We don't recruit, we don't advertise and we try not to organize. Our Local is the Elite of the motion picture and television industry for technicians and we can only keep it that way by accepting the very best. As such we are powerful in our industry and command the highest wages. It is an honor and a privilege to belong to IA Local #52. For this reason alone, I owe him a debt of gratitude I can never repay. On top of that, he has always hired me as his General Foreman whenever he gets a job. The man has enabled me to make more money than I ever thought possible for a guy who basically nails shit together for a living.

We have always had a very open and honest relationship. He has helped me through some tough times and I have had the privilege of doing so for him. His opinions have always carried a great deal of weight with me and there is virtually nothing I wouldn't do for him.

So when he asked me who I was supporting for President I didn't hesitate. "Obama", I replied.

"Obama?", was his answer. "How can you vote against your own kind?"

"What? My own kind?"

I was stunned as the implication of what he said sunk in. "My own kind?", I repeated slowly. "What 'kind' is that? You mean, how can I vote for a Black man?"

"That's right", he said.

Shock. This is a man who threatened to fire a guy who used the "N" word on the job. This is a man who always said that there was no place for racism on any of his jobs...Shock.

I was stunned. Speechless. This same man has always held me in somewhat high regard because of my service in the Marine Corps, so I thought for a moment.

"Do you know the most important thing I learned from my time in the Marines?", I asked him.

"No. What?"

"That there is only one color in America. Red. The color of the blood that runs through all of our veins. The color of the blood that many of us, Black, White, Brown and Yellow have spilled and bled, to keep this country safe. Believe me Brother, when the shit hits the fan you don't give a flying fuck in a rolling donut what the color of the guy next to you is as long as he's doing his best to keep us all alive, and the shit has definitely hit the fan for America. Who do you want next to you and does his color really matter?"

I have no doubt that John McCain suffered greatly for our country. I have no doubt of his heroism. I do doubt his sincerity though, when he votes against every bill that would aid the veterans we are creating in Bush's nightmare in Iraq. I doubt his sincerity when he says that taking the proper care of our nations new veterans will discourage re-enlistments because it will make it too easy to get out of the military, too attractive to return to civilian life. Well, John, there are two solutions, neither of which you will like. Make it more "attractive" to stay in the military or reinstate the draft, without deferments, so all who live here and reap the benefits will have to serve the country who provides the opportunities. As far as McCain's stand on the economy and domestic issues, well, I do not want another 4 to 8 years of what has already brought this once great nation to it's knees, militarily, financially and Constitutionally.

Anyway, I digress.

What it all boils down to in a nutshell is this. The shit has hit the fan for America. Who do you want fighting with you? For me, it's Barack Obama. For my Friend/Brother, well, he thought about what I said and promised to think about it some more, that maybe I was right.

Think about it yourselves. Talk to some of our new veterans. Search the internet for truth. Don't buy into Faux News or the other falsehoods being spread by the Always Wrong Right. Who do you want fighting for and with you?

And remember. It is about color. It's all about color. But the color it's about is red.

Obama '08.

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