A Bright Day In America Still Requires Good Choices

This is a very bright day in America. The dream of Dr. King is alive and well. There is both an electable woman and an electable black man running for the highest office in the land. As a black man, I could not be more excited or elated that this country has the opportunity once again to show that a person can be judged by their ability and the content of their character rather than the color of their skin or their gender.

  However, I must bring my exuberance under control to remind myself that we are electing the President of the United States. We are not electing the female president, the black president or the oldest president. We are electing a president for all Americans. Do these surface distinctions rate significantly in the greater context of choosing the leader of the free world? Is either Hillary Clinton or Barrack Obama the best candidate for the president regardless of their sex or race respectively? Does McCain’s age really matter in this context?

  There are those who say that America has not been ready for this day until now. I disagree. We have been ready for this day for many years. Unfortunately, the right candidates have not stepped up until now. Geraldine Ferraro was not a viable or electable candidate when she ran for vice president. As she has recently displayed, she probably would not be a good candidate today. Neither Jessie Jackson nor Al Sharpton was viable or electable candidates when they ran for the nomination. It would not have mattered if either of them were white or older; they both carried too much baggage. What is happening today, wheather I agree with their politics or not, is that Hillary Clinton, Obama  and McCain are capable and competent enough to create a strong national campaign to be nominated for the office of President. They are at this historical crossroad because they possess enough leadership ability and personal appeal to convince enough Americans to support their individual campaigns.

There is little argument that sex, age or race can make a difference in one’s perspective, one’s world view and one’s mass appeal. That can only take one so far in leading an organization or a nation. What happens when sex, age or race takes back stage to national and international challenges? The President has to lead the country for four years. Will we still be focused on the female president, the white president or the black president if in two years we are still at an impasse on health care coverage, illegal immigration, rising interest rates, aging infrastructure, crowded highways or $5.00 per gallon gasoline at the pump? Will we still be so excited of our historic achievements if taxes increase and college tuition grows by double digits?

When all the excitement dies down and the historic markers are securely in place, I hope that we will elect best candidate for president who will help us continue to create a better America where everyone, regardless of race, age or sex can become the best that we want to be while living in freedom and prosperity.

 

My First Published Opinion in a Major Newspaper

Published in the Salt Lake Tribune on February 24, 2008.

Let Sen. Buttars be judged at the ballot box [That's the title the paper gave]
By Grantley Martelly
Article Last Updated: 02/23/2008 01:39:30 PM MST
   Note: The Opinion refers to comments made on the floor of the Utah Senate by a Utah Senator that were inappropriate, offensive and racist to some in our community.

    I find it rather disingenuous of the NAACP to be representing itself, and for the media to portray it, as the voice piece of all people of color and on matters of race, ethnicity, bigotry, offense or reconciliation. As a matter of independence, I'd like it to be known that the NAACP does not speak for all of us on every matter.
    In the matter with Sen. Chris Buttars, as inappropriate and outrageous as his comments may be, the NAACP is not the sole arbitrator of offensive or racist speech for all people of color and hence it is not imperative that they be consulted or appeased. Sen. Buttars does not have to prostrate himself at their altar or pose for a media-staged apology that may or may not be genuine. This is not to say that organizations such as the NAACP do not serve a role in society to be alert to matters that may affect our civil rights or intervene to bring representation or resolution in instances of violation of civil rights, racism or victimization.
    Sen. Buttars, racist or not, misspoken or deliberate, is a member of a political party, a member of the state Legislature, an elected representative and a member of our community. In any of these capacities, there are proven and effective public and private ways for an offense to be dealt with, for an apology to be made and for reconciliation or retribution to be exacted.
This matter does not have to serve as fodder for another media-based controversy over Buttars versus the NAACP.
    Every instance of inappropriate or offensive language or action does not need a civil rights organization or politically charged figure to resolve it. One does not have to be a person of color to be offended by racist speech or actions. Every person of color is not offended by the same words or actions. Some actions and speech, however, are offensive in any form or instance. The words of Sen. Buttars do not require the interpretation or amplification of a civil rights organization to be interpreted as offensive or inappropriate. We can apply connotative and denotative contextualization to what we see, hear and read without a press release from the NAACP.
    There are other credible, experienced and well-respected community leaders such as The Rev. Dr. France Davis who can be invited to the table and help bring resolution to the matter at hand if this is what is needed. I find it difficult to believe that the Utah Senate cannot handle this matter and bring it to a conclusion. Ultimately the true verdict on Buttars' speech and subsequent actions or lack thereof can be revealed at the ballot box.
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* GRANTLEY MARTELLY resides in Murray.