The Huns were clearly at the castle gates, ready to buy and lie and steal their way in. The nasties in the corporate elites were ready for their coup. But Romney spun out of control like previous plutocratic demagogues before him.
I think back to 2008, when a country twisted into a racist pretzel; turned over the keys to the kingdom to a night-skinned man in our darkest hour. Twas a breathtaking moment in history. I think of all the heroes who paved the way: Harriet Tubman, Harriet Beecher Stowe, John Brown, Lincoln, W.E.B. DuBois, Paul Robeson, freedom riders, MLK, Malcolm, Gordon Parks, panthers and song birds—and far too many more to name.
And while Obama did not quite fill their shoes, he remained a decent man during indecent times. In the 1940s, the Huns took over Spain, Italy, Germany and Japan. In 2000 their ghosts sent Bush proxies our way. Then in 2012 they returned, dressed as the tea party and one-percent braggarts.
I remain thankful and a bit humbled by Obama’s stature in this moment. While he may not have delivered a gourmet feast of fundamental change, he places before us crumbs of hope. And at this late stage in my life it is enough – oh, brother, it is enough.
Thank you, Obama, and all who helped defend us from the right-wing radicals.
