With Barack Obama getting elected as the 44th President, it tells many things about American society. Society has now truly become ‘Americanized’. I think this was very important to the spirit called America. Though no one admitted it openly…it was still a white-dominated polity. But things have changed, people’s views have changed and they have backed ‘change’. Barack’s election has changed the landscape forever. Society revisited the ideals around which America was built by its great founding fathers thereby keeping their dream alive.
It revived my memories of the Rosa Park bus displayed at the Henry Ford museum in Detroit. A few years back I had visited this museum and learned about the 'freedom and equality movement. Rosa Park happened to be heading back home on the Montgomery bus and was seated just behind the seats (first ten seats) reserved for the whites. It was packed and suddenly white gentlemen stepped in. She was asked to move back/step down and she refused. She was arrested, charged, and convicted. She challenged the conviction and the very legality of segregation laws, eventually leading to Supreme Court terming segregation laws as illegal. The series of events after that - the protest, the boycott - laid the foundation of a non-violent civil rights movement that changed the face of America.
This struggle also gave birth to another leader - Martin Luther King, who had led the boycott protests.
Between that day and today - society has demonstrated that it can adapt to changing times and take radical decisions in national interest defying its age-old convictions or beliefs. It’s the same very society that has chosen to elect Barack, an African-American as their President more so in these unprecedented turbulent times. It's a real tribute to the people of America who have shown courage and took this historic decision and to begin a new era of openness and equality.
The question is when will Indian society reach those heights?
1 comment:
Ajit-I believe that social integration is better in the Indian society.Don't forget that Obama was raised by a white mother and gand parents,this fact coupled with that Americans were so done with Bush after 8 years are the primary reasons for this change.
Post a Comment