A Letter To The Editor...And My Two-Cents

• Obama inaugural stuffed with baloney
The Obama inaugural became such a spectacle that it left me feeling ashamed.
I am ashamed of the entire country for creating a facade of racial harmony and a false uplifting of how far we have come, pertaining to equality.
There has been nothing equal about the amount of exposure that the president received as opposed to all who came before him. That seems to be the norm when equality is an issue. I see it as special treatment to make up for a perceived wrongdoing. There has never been such hoopla over the office of the presidency changing hands.
I know that President Bush was never completely right in many of the decisions that were made during his administration, but President Obama is not a savior. He is another politician who is going to have a go at what at times has to be the most stressful job in this country. He is being portrayed as a demigod. I have had my fill of the media’s coverage of the Obamas’ quest for the White House.
As a Native American, I will be so happy to see the day when all the milestones of immigrants being the first to do something have been reached.
I have been a lifelong Democrat who is leaning toward independent, and I am not a racist; I am just seeing this circus act from another perspective.
GERALD B. LOCKLEAR
McColl
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Hi there Gerry,
I was a bit taken back by your letter. Especially in regards to the comment about the 'facade of racial harmony.'

I don't think anyone with half a brain believes that the election of Barack Obama is an end to racism. Gosh no, Gerry. Racism will always be here. There will always be an 'us' and a 'them.' Always be fear and ignorance and intolerance and hate for somebody. Sad to say, but that's the way it's always been and I don't see that change a'coming soon.

But we can make a change bit by bit, by looking past the facades and at the substance, by listening to what is said. By saying what we want and then doing it. Sticking to our word.
Obama didn't get equal exposure, he got more. Because he was different in so many ways than what we'd seen before. He wasn't white; he had something to say; he told us that this would be hard to do, this change. He was different from what came before, so the media exposure to him was different.

As for the hoopla involving this president taking over, we have spent eight years being fed lies, being told we were doing one thing and then doing another, torturing people, spying on people. The change that Obama has offered is an end to all that. And for that alone, he deserves the hoopla. We, the people, deserve the hoopla.

George Bush may not have been 'completely right' in some of his decisions, but he was 'completely wrong' in a great many. Once again, let me say, I don't see Obama as a savior. I see him as a man who is as fed up with the Bush/Cheney regime as I am, and he's ready to do all he can to fix it. Can he fix? I hope so, but we won't know for sure for quite some time.

I understand that as a Native American you have your issues with racism, but don't you see, Gerry, that a step for any minority is a step for all minorities. If we see a black man elected to office, then what about a gay man, or a woman or a Native American. It's a step for all of us, Gerry
All of us.