After the first week in November, you’ll be able to say you first read it here: Barack Obama will be the first BlAsian president of the United States!
BlAsian in the combined biological family sense: His father is Kenyan, and his stepfather is Indonesian. He is also BlAsian in the substantive, political spirit of the burgeoning, freedom-loving BlAsian community.
As opposed to the flippant sound bytes from other candidates customized to the latest poll results, Obama recurrently refers to his BlAsian background and other multicultural experiences in espousing his views, whether debating in California or making stump speeches in Texas or West Virginia.
These speech lines are usually right out of his bestselling book, The Audacity of Hope, in which he rationalizes his multicultural stance on the issues: “In a sense, I have no choice but to believe in this vision of America. As a child of a black man and a white woman, someone who was born in the racial melting pot of Hawaii, with a sister who is half-Indonesian but who’s usually mistaken for Mexican or Puerto Rican, and a brother-in-law and niece of Chinese descent, with some blood relatives who resemble Margaret Thatcher and others who could pass for Bernie Mac, I’ve never had the option of restricting my loyalties on the basis of race or measuring my worth on the basis of tribe.”
This quote is usually used to preface his immigration position: “We need stronger enforcement on the border but for reform to work, we must also respond to what pulls people to America. Where we can reunite families, we should. Where we can bring in more foreign workers with the skills our economy needs, we should.”
To be sure, Obama is not a perfect candidate. There are times when he talks about racial issues in his book as well as in his campaign speeches that I wished he had included Asian Americans when he mentions Blacks and Latinos. But such imperfections will likely become fine-tuned, just as Obama has refined his views on many other issues.
Like his erudition for world as well as domestic concerns, Obama’s zen-like reactions to opponents’ often disrespectful, equivocal attacks are cool, calm truth. And sometimes silence — perhaps a nod to his Asian cultural influence — is a refreshing way for a politician to conduct himself, as opposed to the eternal zero-sum attack mode to which the public has been exposed for too long. His leadership is premised on a broad multicultural, social, educational, political and racial experience — the sort of political leadership and change America and the world need!
BlAsian venues to check out: Pistahan Festival / Parade Aug. 9-10, Philippine Festival of Arts & Culture, Sept. 6 – 7, and The BlAsian Barbie: modelmayhem.com/TheBlasianBarbie.
Sam Cacas is the author of BlAsian Exchanges, a novel. Read his blog beyondborders.asianweek.com.
I enjoyed reading your article as always you bring a refreshing balance and view of every topic.