The Key Stone State Primary
Race Gender Generation & the Future

I stayed up late last night watching the analysis of the Pennsylvania Democratic Primary on CNN, Fox and MSNBC and then spent the morning listening to talk radio (after having read the papers) about the primary results. I feel stunned and let down.

1. It seems to me that we live in an incredibly racist culture - not just in terms of skin color and ethnicity, but in terms of culture (age, generation, worldview, and communication styles). I'm not naive, but horrified to hear some of very leaders questioning whether a black man can win as president. I was stunned last night to hear on the new the analysis that the old white guys just didn't turn out to vote for Obama.

2. We had dinner guests last night from the Key Stone State. In our conversation it was shared that someone suspected that Barack Obama might be a muslim extremist because of his name, and surprise was articulated that he isn't Arab but rather African-American. I heard it said aloud at some point yesterday that folks in Pennsylvania had to basically chose between a woman and a N*&%*$. I almost choked on my own revolusion.

3. How can things change in our country when we won't let them? Most people are afraid: of terrorists, the economy, the insane amount of foreclosures, the emergence of China and India, techonology, the soaring cost of food, crime, failing public schools, and the looming crises of health care, Social Security, and All Our Children Being left behind in comparison to others nations. So why is it that we look for leaders who will give us the same old comfortable familiar solutions and sound-bytes? How can sticking our head in the sand help?

4. This is crass. If it offends you I'm sorry. But it's my impression of where our nation might be, which developed in listening to all of this analysis and processing of yesterday's results and what it means. Maybe this election is basically going to come down to who has the oldest, most experienced and whitest penis....he'll be the winner and our next president.

Maybe it's time to move to Europe.