Empathize with the Black Woman Voting: Cognitive Dissonance?

Obama or Hillary? Which demographic is the stronger with the black woman voting, being black or being female? I wish I had a poll result that derived from a sample of Democrat white women and Democrat black women with controls of Democrat black men and white men and general population.

There was a program with three people singled out for their opinions, one pro-Hillary white male, one pro-Obama white female, and one undecided black female. The latter made me wonder about the psychological construct of “cognitive dissonance”, which is the state of being of two minds about something. She epitomized a walking definition of cognitive dissonance. She was both Obama and Clinton in outward manifestations.

I have had that personally, wanting the women to have their president and wanting to have a black president of the calibre of multicultural Obama. I was of two minds early in the campaign season between the two. Hillary’s early speeches were very good, I thought. I was impressed. Obama has had, from the start, brilliant analysis and eloquent style rising above our mundane expectancies.

Barack and Hillary went up the hill, to fetch a pail of voters; Hillary fell down and broke her crown and Barack came tumbling after.

Some black opinion has seen the blackness of Obama as a diluted black. I, being white, wouldn’t know where that is coming from, not having had the black experience except as an on-looker. Am I entitled to have an opinion, or dare I not express one? If not, then I relish the talk of Bill Cosby, among others, on that subject. In the same vein, I look for the talk of Muslims about the actions of radicalized Muslims. If I had opinions on those subjects, they would always be qualified by others’ “consider-the-source” criticism.

I liked Hillary before her tack turned her campaign vessel to the rickety-ticky tacky. Nothing high-minded there. She is a walking definition of mundanity. Listen to her and you will hear every cliche in the book of quotations. Barack is the antonym of mundanity. I like style, and you should, too; you’re going to have to listen to the President for at least four years. The fans of “American Idol”, millions of them, must appreciate the elements of style, for that is the main thing thatnts in separates the idol from the common. So do not ever knock style points in a pol.

Sportsmanship is not whether you win or lose, but how you played the game. Is that not supposed to be the mantra of fair play and Americanism, the American way? Nearly everybody now takes the view of cynics, win at all costs, the type of political game being played now.

If you are a black, female Democrat reading this, do you have such dissonance given the present situation?

On Hearing Sen. Obama’s Pastor: The Flip Side

I heard Sen. Obama’s Church of Christ pastor preaching today. I can hear the uproar now even before turning on the talk radio station or the news. I know without listening what they all are about to say. He must denounce and reject that man’s preaching against the singing of the national anthem. Well, hold on. There is a positive side that may not be heard.

Have we ever had indications from Sen. Obama that tell us how deep into the “culture of the black people” he is? Can that be judged by the voters? I know there is a domestic culture of black people that has language, paralanguage and nonverbal dimensions that most of us white folk know little about. I have encountered it and been found wanting in understanding the offenses that may innocently be committed without my awareness. (I know that political correctness should be defined as “cultural astuteness”. PC is an exhibition of CA.)

Since I believe one of our social goals in the U.S. is to have peace and understanding among all citizens of this melting pot, defeating in the long haul all vestiges of racism, sexism, and so forth, it is my obligation to continue my education in the best ways of communicating across cultural differences.

In that spirit, I see a black pastor preaching to his congregation with content I find ridiculous. But that’s his prerogative. His congregation accepts it rather enthusiastically. He is holding up the nation of “the man” as a villain to be disrespected. So that’s the status of our society. People need to know that. That feeling of disrespect is still strong. The report of his preaching puts it out in the open. And that’s the way it should be!

The kicker is that we might now have a President who will bring this society even closer to the problems of our racial divide. (Just as Hillary’s campaign has brought us all closer to an understanding of how a woman might campaign for President. Her campaign will constitute a model for future women candidates for President.)

Obama’s candidacy and perhaps eventual presidency may accomplish some additional healing, of the sort which I heard Bill Cosby and others talk about.

Hearing Obama’s pastor was not a bad thing. Hearing Obama’s pastor was an interesting event, not something Obama should have to show regret for. He should say that it was an event encouraged under Constitutional protection that we can all learn from, learn toleration, understanding, and something about a man who might be our President.

His incendiary speech set nothing on fire. He was asking, in a church building, his deity to damn the U.S. If there had been a tsunami or a tornado or a hurricane devastating our countrymen immediately after he uttered those words, that would have constituted, to the Jerry Fallwell or Pat Robertson types, proof of the deity’s retribution. There was no breaking of the rules of free speech by the pastor. How often and how many people everyday curse our government for this or that?