Food for thought...

The US presidential elections are over and Barack Obama has won it. US and world media have come out and said that the country has taken a big step forward with Obama’s election and rightfully so. Several democracies and countries had already demonstrated their commitment to equality by electing women, people from religious minorities etc as heads of governments and the US, despite being a vibrant democracy, was previously questioned in that aspect. That question can be put to rest now.

One of the interesting things that I have always observed is how we humans tend to perceive things differently for different people. Unfortunately, in our sub-conscious, the color of skin does play a big part in our perceptions. This is true of many countries, including India, where I wouldn’t classify such behavior as racist rather as sub-conscious discrimination. It is omnipresent in the daily life and ranges from marriage proposals to advertisements exhorting fair skin to build confidence and success in life. That is truly sad and I believe much work needs to be done to overcome such opinions.

I recently received an e-mail regarding the two candidates for the presidency of the U.S. with respect to how they are perceived by the public. I haven’t validated anything that has been said in it, but it did make for some interesting reading. I’ll post it verbatim.

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The question emerged - "What if things were switched around?"

What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage following the debate, including a three month-old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter? How do you suppose your average Midwesterner would've reacted to THAT?

What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review? Do you think he would be making a big thing of it?

What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his college graduating class like McCain did? Would anyone look at that any differently?

What if McCain had only married once and Obama was the one who was divorced instead?

What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married? Can you imagine the treatment Obama would get over THAT?

What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?

What if Obama, instead of McCain, had been a member of the Keating Five? (The Keating Five were United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s)

What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing four planes? Think that might come up or would we just talk about his years in a POW camp?

What if Obama was the one who was known to publicly acknowledge a serious anger management problem?

What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution?