Saturday, November 15, 2008

Be Careful What You Wish For

Ever since last Tuesday's historic election, news reporters and commentators have been enthusiastically -- one might even say eagerly -- comparing Barack Obama to Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy.

And every time they do, I cringe. Because what they all seem to forget is that both of those presidencies ended tragically.

I know that "those who forget history are doomed to repeat it." But I also fear that those who constantly reference it may be subject to the same fate.

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UPDATE: A few hours after making this post, this article hit the wires.

I suppose if John McCain had been elected president, I might be feeling some of the same sick emotions. And if this year's Democratic candidate had been white, I suppose the actions and words it reports wouldn't anger and chill me as much as they do. But still.

Dear President-Elect Obama: Please be safe. Our country desperately needs you, more than it knows.

2 comments:

Elton A.R. Alwine said...

It's a shame I feel this way, but I get the distinct feeling that this is the only way Mr. Obama's presidency will end...

Hey I pray not, but this is the way the world works. We make heroes and take them down to make them martyrs.

Would JFK really be so loved and appreciated had he not been shot?

C. Michael Cook said...

I hope you're not right, I hope you're not right, I hope you're not right... (Repeat until some time in January, 2017.)