Memorial Day Weekend

On Memorial Day me and my liberal buddies sipped Fat Tire beer out in the garden while our organic veggies that we bought from the local farmer's market were grilling on the barbecue. We mused giddily about a post-Bush Obama presidency and about an America we can soon be proud of for the first time in our lives. Yes, we are unashamedly Obama's voter base. We don't notice race or gender. We are graduates of top colleges. We drink fair trade coffee (note: we are not the Starbucks' crowd!). We eat fair trade dark chocolate. We pay attention to food miles. We drive small Japanese cars. We wake up to NPR's morning edition. We love Jon Stewart. We hate Monsanto, Rupert Murdoch, people with bumper stickers that say "God Bless America", and WalMart.

How optimistic are we? It's hard to say. We know that this is the year for the Democratic Party. It's a no-brainer. Yet, we fear the racists. If Obama loses the election, what a shameful day it will be for America. Oh, how could we then be proud of a country that proves how little progress it's made? How painful to know that something as superficial as a few pigments would have determined a disastrous outcome. Yes, race isn't just color, I know. But in Obama's case it is. He is culturally white, having grown up in a white home. He sought out, consciously to develop a black identity later in his life. So, he is truly biracial. What better candidate to unify a country as diverse as ours?

So me and my buddies soaked up the California sun and ate delicious food. The scent of jasmin filled the air and the humming birds and monarch butterflies fluttered about among rock roses. It was the kind of atmosphere that made you feel good and optimistic. I smiled with pride as I pictured Barack Obama taking the oath of office.