Personal Politics vs. Party Politics

General Colin Powell announced his endorsement for Senator Barrack Obama and gave very clear and articulate reasons for doing so. I'm not impressed with that. I don't think someone should be viewed as a heroic figure or villainous despot, just because of who they plan to vote for. I'm not going to knock a guy/gal that feels that McCain is the best man for the job (being president that is), so long as that person has clear rational reasons (for himself/herself not anyone else) for taking that position.

No, no...Powell gets two thumbs way up for asking himself and by extension the rest of the Republican Party some very tough questions. One of the most important (in my mind) being, "Where we going with this...?" (I am paraphrasing of course). He was essentially calling into question how this new or "neo" Republican Party was defining what and where the real America was and who real Americans were.

He is correct in stating that the right answer to the Charge that Obama is a Muslim is "No he isn't...he is a Christian". He is even more correct in stating that the better answer to that question is so what (paraphrasing again). He goes on to remind us that there are other religions in this great country of ours and the people that practice those religions have lived in, fought for, and died for America.

So am I praising Powell for speaking up about his concerns about the divisive tone that the McCain campaign has adopted? Yeah, I guess, but the bulk of my praise for Powell goes to the fact that he was willing to examine his views and how they were being represented (or not) by his party and the campaign of his close friend. That to me is very important, the fact that he's not voting out of loyalty or a desire to see his party in power but based on his wish for America to be a better more united place. That is an example; I believe we should all follow. Who is the one who is going to turn my America and your America into OUR AMERICA! I’m not saying that everyone will come to the same conclusion that Powell did but at least they will have made the effort to take a critical look at themselves and the party or person there are supporting/opposing, making up their own minds and not have it made up for them.

I feel the fact that Powell is a Black Republican makes his endorsement more poignant. I had almost lost all faith in my conservative brothers and sisters (those who are indeed brothas and sistahs), because it appeared to me that no matter how rotten the McCain/Palin campaign got, they turned a blind eye and held their collective breath while showing their support and solidarity with the ticket. Let me just say, I don’t care if some one is a conservative, liberal, moderate, or whatever. There are gems (along with turds) in many of the different political ideologies. When a person puts party loyalty and partisan talking points over their own moral compass, well…I just can’t take what they have to say seriously. This is why the look into Powell’s thought process was like a breath of fresh air to me, because it reminded me that not all Black Republicans were going the way of the “Slave Catcher” as the Field Negro likes to call them.

Powell’s endorsement and the endorsement of other prominent conservatives for Senator Obama, gives me hope in the belief that we as Americans can disagree on a lot of things but we can be united in the knowledge that we are all Americans, we all love our country, and we all want America to prosper and succeed as a world leader. Perhaps we are finally witnessing the first rays of dawn after a long, long night (eight years long to be exact).


Of course Mr. Limbaugh had to give his two cents worth, which with the current rate of inflation, really equals nothing…




-Noface