Texas, Do Me Proud
I rarely never write about politics on this blog but being a former US resident I feel I have to weigh in on what’s going on in the US Presidential primaries, happening now. For those that don’t know Dallas, Texas is where I grew up, so this is something that is very close to my heart. According to the latest CNN polls, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are in a dead heat for the upcoming Texas primary, which is exciting news for Obama supporters like me everywhere. Before I go on though, I have some back story to share.
About four years ago I read a great article about a young, idealistic Senator from Illinois who was slated to be the next Democratic Presidential nominee. At the time, I dismissed the article as hype. Surely Americans wouldn’t see Barack Obama, a 40-something African-American, as a serious candidate for the Presidency? Not when events like the disastrous aftermath of Hurricane Katrina exposed how racially torn the United States still is? However, the more I read about Senator Obama, the more I heard about his ideals and his successes as a community organizer and a state legislator, the more I too began to believe that he could overcome that racial divide and truly lead the nation that I grew up in to a better day.
If you’ve followed the race up until now, you’ve seen many states embrace Senator Obama over a very experienced and smart Hilary Clinton. Now with two key states left leading up to the Democratic National Convention, where four years ago Senator Obama addressed the crowd as the keynote speaker, he is facing his toughest challenge. Obama has done well with voters across many demographics, but the Clinton’s have a legacy that is close to the hearts of blue-collar workers and Latin-Americans in Ohio and Texas, respectively.
Growing up in Texas, I can tell you first hand that racial ignorance and Southern hospitality went hand in hand. Texas is the state that you greet passer-by’s with a “Howdy, Ma’am” or an “Afternoon, Sir” but it was also the state where most people thought I was Mexican and poor, just by looking at my skin color.
Twenty years after I left Texas, I’m looking at my former hometown of Dallas and every city and town to see how they vote in this upcoming primary. I firmly believe that a young idealist like Senator Obama is what Washington needs and I’m eagerly awaiting to see if Texas has a say in that. It would truly warm my big ol’ Southern heart.
