Some years ago, I was watching Deep Impact where Morgan Freeman played the part of American President and I remarked “not in a hundred years”.
Hollywood is more farsighted than most mortals. With time, the difference between fiction and reality has narrowed – and many a fiction has become reality.
And with Obama’s victory one more fiction has turned into reality. I guess I must have been a morbid pessimist.
Although Obama has won - when it comes to the question of racial discrimination and social equality – I still reserve the same pessimism, although less morbid now.
As long as blacks have voted for Obama because he is black and whites have voted against Obama because he is not white – which I am certain have happened in plenty - the racial divide is still as large as it was.
If anything, as pessimistic as I am at this moment, I tend to think that racial difference will be more pronounced because of Obama’s victory. For instance, post Obama victory, CNN continuously ran clips of black Americans celebrating the victory more than caucasians to a 10:1 ratio.
For sure, there is far more to the victory of Obama than the dilution of racial difference.
1. Obama is a charismatic leader with exceptional oratory capability – No Doubt.
2. McCain chose a beautiful running mate. (the popular stereotype of beauty and brains not mixing got validated)
3. McCain’s republican predecessor is terribly unpopular.
4. Economic Meltdown accelerated to the point where the biggest financial institutions met the fate of “unsinkable” titanic.
In my (pessimistic) view, as far as true Racial Meltdown is concerned, we still hover in the realm of fiction as does Time Travel!!!
I wish I am wrong.
