One Man’s History is Another Man’s, “So What?”

There were two historical events this past weekend, or should I say there could have been two. The horse Big Brown could have been the first Triple Crown Winner in thirty-one years but had some sort of problem and ended up last in the Belmont.

I remember the last Triple Crown won by Affirmed and told my daughter and my wife that we could have history in the making if Big Brown won the race. It could take another thirty, or fifty, years until there was another one. My news was met with a fairly resounding yawn by both of the ladies. Admittedly, I only watch the Belmont if a horse has one the first two races and Big Brown was such a prohibitive favorite that it seemed I would indeed see history.

There was no history and it turns out my wife and daughter didn’t miss a thing. I couldn’t argue with their, “So What?” on that one.

Then you have Hillary Clinton dropping out of the race and endorsing Barack Obama. See my Blog dated May 16 to see how I wanted it to end. My eighteen-year-old daughter is thrilled that Obama is the nominee. She is not thrilled because Obama is a Black man, or African-American if you prefer.

The reason she likes Obama is because of his message and his spirit. She never saw the old days in this country when Black people were fire-hosed in the streets of Selma and Civil Rights workers were murdered because they tried to help Black folks to vote. She wasn’t around for the murder of Martin Luther King or the riots that followed. I’m not sure if she’s ever heard of the Black Panthers.

She just likes Obama because of who he is and what he says. The fact that Hillary Clinton was the Woman Candidate never entered the picture for her. Woman, Black man, doesn’t matter. For her it’s, “Who do I believe?”

Whether Obama can be elected remains to be seen, but history has been made when my young daughter bases her choice on what she perceives as, “The content of his character and not the color of his skin.” I’m proud of her.

Vote, unless you don’t like any of ‘em.