The Amazing Grace of it All - By Eugene Robinson

[kpete]

The Amazing Grace of it All
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 11:34
By Eugene Robinson, Washington Post Writers Group | Op-Ed

.......

Reflect for a moment: A black man stood on the Capitol steps and took the oath of office as president of the United States. "For the second time." Meaning that voters not only elected him once -- which could be a fluke, a blip, an aberration, a cosmic accident -- but turned around and did it again.

.........................

"My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment and we will seize it, so long as we seize it together," Obama thundered, in a speech built on themes of collective action and responsibility.

Reaction to the address took remarkably little notice of the fact that Obama is an African-American. That seems to be old news.

Not for me, though. Not for a black man who grew up in the segregated South, who attended a rally (my mother tells me) at which the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke, who lived through the defeat of Jim Crow and the triumph of the civil rights movement.

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The Rest:
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/14055-the-amazing-grace-of-it-all

[MineralMan]

1. It is an amazing thing, isn't it?

It's not something I ever expected to see in my lifetime. I'm sure MLK would have been amazed, as well. We haven't yet had a woman as President, and I expected that to happen first.

We, the people of the United States, have elected a black man as President, not just once, but for a second term. It is an amazing thing.

[Hekate]

2. It is, it is

I did not think it could happen yet, in spite of "progress" ... And yet it happened in spite of a resurgent racist movement and a corporatist takeover movement.

Amazing Grace, indeed.

Hekate

[WilliamPitt]

3. AMAZING GRACE RELIGION THAT'S HATEFUL I'M CONCERNED WHAAAAARGARBLE

There. Took care of all the imminent complaints.

[Surya Gayatri]

5. Thanks for getting that out of the way, Will. With any luck, your preemptive anti-religious rant

will placate the dogmatic dimwits and allow an open-minded discussion of Robinson's piece.

[Frustratedlady]

4. I'm sure it was a proud and emotional day for blacks, but move over...

it was an emotional experience for a majority of whites, as well. And, with a popularity rating in the 70 percentile, there must have been some closet-Republicans who also enjoyed the inauguration.

I SO admire Obama and Michelle for the way they are able to conduct themselves with grace with their beautiful smiles as the icing on the cake. By taking the high road, they are diminishing the power of the Republicans who are so hateful. The Cantors, Boehners, McConnells, Ryans, Romneys of the world. Visualize the Obamas to the left...beautiful, caring and kind...the Republicans to the right...scowling, hateful and bigoted. Quite a contrast, isn't it? I truly believe that when the next four years are behind us, those scowling, hateful and bigoted people to the right will be nearly gone out of sight...out of memory...out of power.

To the blacks, I say, "Job well done!" You should be proud. Standing in line all those hours to vote paid off!

I wish our new POTUS and FLOTUS the best of luck in the future. May the Bidens continue to be supportive in the next four years and may the U.S. flourish and come together, once again.

[Booster]

6. My feeling exactly. Very well said.