Go, Barack!

After watching his speech on race relations that he gave in Philadelphia this morning, I am even more convinced that Barack Obama is the man for the job.

So many times, Americans would rather sweep questions of race under the rug. It makes us uncomfortable to talk about it. We'd rather ignore things and hope they'll eventually go away and work themselves out, or worse, convince ourselves that race isn't an issue anymore.

Though I know people mean well when they say it, it bothers me when people profess to be colorblind. "I just don't see color." I know they're trying to say that they don't judge people based on color (and no matter what you say, we all do subconsciously), and that's admirable. But telling me that you don't see color is another way of telling me that you'd rather look past who I am so that we can all get along. Hold up. Don't look past me. Look at me. I want you to see me for who I am. Instead of focusing on minimalizing differences into watered-down, inauthentic generalities, we should recognize differences, do our best to understand differences, and embrace them.

In his speech today, Obama tackled some issues head on, and I highly admire him for the tact, balance and eloquence with which he pulled it off. It's almost 40 minutes, but once you start watching, it will be hard to turn away. If you have some time, stop, press play, and hear the man out. (The story in the end might bring tears to your eyes, so if you're a crybaby like me, be prepared!)