TALK TO THE DADDY

Hello. Come on in. The daddy writes about current events, literature, music and, once in a while, drops something on you from back in the day to make you pause and ponder, stop and stare, and begin to wonder. Who knows? You may start to pace the floor, shake your head from side to side, then fall down on bended knees in a praying position and cry, "Lawd, have mercy! What is this world coming to?" Check yourself! But this blog is NOT about the daddy. It's about you: your boos, your fam, your hood, your country...our hopes and dreams of a better tomorrow. So let's make a pact: the daddy will put it on the track if you'll chase it down and hit him back. Together, we can definitely take it to another level. Shall we?"

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Barack Obama and this new day

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."
--Melody Beattie

"While the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress...To those Americans whose support I have yet to earn -- I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president too."
--Barack Obama


Yes, Barack Obama and his brilliant campaign transcended the Clinton machine, the petty, smear campaign of John McCain and Sarah Palin to become the 44th president of this great nation.

Yes, he won because his opponent's campaign lacked a solid organization on the ground and a strong, consistent and believable theme, and because Obama had a well-run, younger and more committed staffers and volunteers on the ground and a theme of change that America could believe in and-- after eight years of war and economic decline-- was yearning for.

And, yes, Obama won because, while his opponent was dull and fear-mongering, he was motivating, inspiring and transformative. But today, the daddy is feeling something beyond excitement for Obamas' and America's success. He's feeling something else, something he thinks everyone should feel after a hard-fought battle, victory or defeat: Gratitude, reflection and humility.

Gratitude to opponent Hillary Clinton and John McCain for pushing Obama, challenging him to be the best presidential candidate he could be and to his campaign staff to be the best support persons they could be. Gratitude especially to Hillary Clinton who, in bringing up or embracing criticism of Obama as inexperienced or as displaying poor judgment by staying in Rev. Wright's church, made those issues basically irrelevant after the primaries, giving McCain no real "October surprise" or smear material worth noting.

Humility before his Creator and his people, the American people, for giving Obama not only the vote to become president of their country, but demonstrating their faith in him and his administration to steer it through its worse economic crisis since the depression.

Reflecting on the historic nature of this presidential campaign. This was a campaign where John McCain's so-called "Straight Talk Express" bus with its reactionary, union-busting "Reagan Revolution" rhetoric of small government and low taxes for the richest Americans ran off the road and out of gas; where a woman candidate came close to becoming the next president; where an African American, the son of a Kenyan father and Kansas white woman, became the 44th president of the United States of America.

In a country of hard workers, status seekers and job climbers too busy for breakfast and, often-times, family dinner, the daddy believes that this day of reflection, humility, and gratitude about this new day, about what we can do to make America better, about how we can best support our new president to ensure his success and to make America even greater, is in order.

What about you? Are you too busy to show gratitude and humility? Are you too busy to reflect or meditate?

11 comments:

SagaciousHillbilly said...

Nice to see you here today in this wonderful new world MacDaddy!

Mac Daddy Tribute Blog said...

sagacious: I am humbled by this new day.

Real History Lisa said...

Wonderful thoughts on the necessity and healing power of gratitude. Order up 1000 heaping servings for me, today!

LISA VAZQUEZ said...

Hello,

I am still just taking it all in.

There are messages from my white friends in voicemail saying "congratulations"....not quite sure why they are congratulating me when I didn't work on the Obama campaign (smiles) but okay...I'll take the congratulations!!

America is joyous! We haven't had that type of feeling, that rush, that huge pride in a long, long time, it seems.

The cynicism that was so common in the blogosphere at so many blogs (including MINE! *giggles*) is now conquered by reflection.

This was a moment that none of us will ever forget.

Thanks so much for sounding the trumpet.

{hugs}

{kisses}

Lisa

Anonymous said...

Book ends: Grant Park 1968 and 2008.....and this
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/03/wallace.kennedy.obama/index.html

Kit (Keep It Trill) said...

Aside from briefly reading the internet papers this morning, indeed I have taken a break to enjoy the day. It's been a bit overcast here in Maryland, but the weather feels soooo good. I relaxed and stayed outside for hours, enjoying the trees, the breeze, playing with my dog, and feeling a deep sense of contentment that I lived to see this day.

This has been remarkable because I had a little bad news yesterday evening, nothing earth shaking, but enough to have otherwise made me feel down.

That nor nothing else could rob me of the joy I felt at 11 PM when it was announced that Barack Obama won and will be our next President, or today, as I have felt a deep sense of peace. It truly is a new dawn for this nation. I know there will be some very rough moments ahead but of all the captains of the ship, I trust him the most to guide us through it and hold our hands in whatever dark moments are ahead.

Anonymous said...

Dear MacDaddy....Oh Yes, this is the day for all those things you mentioned....GRATITUDE, HUMILITY, REFLECTION....My HOPE in the American people has been restored, and I have every confidence that President Elect Barack Obama (Isn't it fun to say!?) will lead us to this Resoration....in his words, it will be a long, hard climb, and he has every intention of keeping all of us in the loop...Did you read the piece MESSAGE RECIEVED in today's Tibune? The author outlines the phenomenal way President Obama has used technology to mobilize the American people...Amazing, Amazing....I got two emails from him since election day!!!(along with 700,000 others!)
Did you notice in his speech last evening that his deep set eyes spoke of the gravity of the mission before him?...I am so PROUD that millions have seen in this moment, a moment of promise especially for Main Street! He will lead with DIGNITY & GRACE!
Amen, and Alleluia!!!
I PRAY for his safety.....& Peace.

rainywalker said...

I am happy we have been a part of history. I will not gloat. Our new President will need us all to work together and be there when he needs us. Thus we finish a great experiment together, for all America and the future. I believe the Congress and Senate are going to get a big surprise when the President goes over their heads to the American people. The grass roots organization is still in place and I believe even some of the Republicans will join in once the fire starts!

Lenoxave said...

Wonderful post as always. I am humbled and grateful. I think about 3 generations of my family who are not here to see this day. I am thankful for those who have born witness to this moment.

This is a chance, an opportunity to do the right thing. We are not given many open doors in life, so we must seize the day when we can.

I am so thankful and grateful for this moment, this time, this day. I think about my Great Gran who was a share cropper and my Gran who grew up on a farm and never finished High School, but did a great job raising me.

This is a miraculous time to be alive and I am forever grateful for it all.

Anonymous said...

Enjoy this day, but understand that the very forces that fought against us in this battle are not taking defeat well. I've been listening to right-wing hate radio all day and some listeners are scared of Obama.

That's fine. We're going to drive this country in the right direction and for those who want to leave the country I'll be a nice guy and drive them to the airport. :)

Mac Daddy Tribute Blog said...

realhistorylisa: A heaping helping for me too. Thanks for coming, and i'll be visiting you often.

lisa: You hit on something. White people who know me were congratulating me. Those who didn't were giving me warm smiles. White guys were chatting with me about the Atlanta Falcons (I wear an Atlanta Falcon cap). I could be wrong, but I think it was their way of saying "I accept you as one of us now."

kit: I trust Obama to do his very best to make much-needed changes for this country. But he will need help from Republicans, independents and all of us. For starters, he will need us to be patient. What Bush has done to our economy and our status abroad will not be changed in one year, not even in four years.

nun: You speak eloquently for us all.

rainywalker:I think you hit on the main point: that President Obama will not make all the changes we need immediately but will steer us in the right direction.

sdj: I join you in your gratefulness and humility. I think I will be in that state for a while.

r.j.: You're probably a guy with a stronger stomach than I. Today, of all days, I could not read one right-wing blog. Today, i'm holding on to this feeling of gratitude and humility. By the way, have you started your new book?