Dreams of My Father (A Story of Race and Inheritance) by Barack Obama

Barack n’ Roll, baby! Barack Obama won the democratic nomination being the first blackish dude to ever be accomplished such a feat.

Barack Obama maybe the first generation X president. Part of the hope that he gives is often felt by young people. Those people who are ready to kick out the Vietnam War generation of the Vietnam War, Watergate, and the Reagan Revolution. We are really tired of that combative culture of a generation spoiled and not appreciative that they were living in the highest time of American wealth and status so far.

If you have any question that Obama is the Gen-X candidate then read the Dreams of My Father, which is not be confused with John McCain’s Faith in My Fathers, which was also a good book. The names sound alike. His mother was a child of the sixties and a bit rebellious. She married a Kenyan and a Malaysian. Took her family to live in Malaysia, and only when immersed in that culture did she come to value being an American. Barack was the child of all that.

Brother Obama went to college in the 80’s and grad-school in the 90’s. By the way, he went to Columbia College at Columbia University.

Remember in at the start of the campaign, there was the question “Is Obama, really black?”? Well, this is why. Barack was conceived with Kenyan father of many wives, and a white woman. He was raised by her and sometimes her parents. On a side note, I attended a tapping of the Colbert Report where a columnist from Salon.com argued that Brother Obama was not black.

Remember when they were saying “Obama is Muslim”, because of his Kenyan family which he almost never knew growing up and that he lived in Malaysia when he was very young. People tried to scare up these facts. Hillary Clinton was nice enough to dig up a picture of Obama in Muslim looking clothes from a trip to Kenya he took to see him family there and gave them to the right wing media site, the Drudge Report; who always thanked the Clinton campaign for digging up dirt on Obama.

Anyway, to say the least Brother Barack is not your average black guy.

He went by Barry before college.

What I like about the book was how honestly and detailed, Obama described not fitting into an ethnic stereotype, which is something that I can relate to. For Obama, he had blackness inherited, but he did not inherit the African-American experience. He really didn’t grow up with it, except when it was trusted upon him.

Barack throughout his life, basically, learns to be black. Other black’s kinda accept him, but not totally. They think the Kenyan bit is cool, but it is nothing they can relate to. As Barack has one foot in and out of the door he has a unique position observe racism and its hypocrisies.

As far as race affects him as well as he observes it Obama takes it in deeply and personally, and in this there is a very favorable view of his character. The book is filled with well though out insights. You can see that he judges things from as many angles as he can find. He also seems obsessed with it. He sees the hypocrisy of both sides. His conclusions ring as true and biting at the same time. He even sees the hypocrisy in his own mother. He describes a situation of her, and his younger sister (who he barely mentions in his book) going to see an old movie where black people are portrayed as happy children, and she, his mother, is in love with that image. He also describes other areas of racism in his family.

The world and situations he describes are in direct conflict with the right wing exsertion that racism is dead, and should never be spoken of in a context prior to 1970. In a way, this book great because it speaks of a taboo of race in America.

The last part of the book he decides to really get into the black community in Chicago where he works as a community organizer. It is at this time where he meets his controversial preacher, which he has disowned in the election. It seems that in order for him to really be accepted in that community he has to drown himself in it, and it is where he leaves the reader. He is about to leave for Harvard Law. You wonder if he so immerse in the black community does he see the world outside of that, and in the election I am sure that will be asked this over and over again. This will probably where Obama the candidate, I suspect, will be vulnerable. Barack saturated himself with some of the most radical of the Chicago black community. It does not mean he is a radical, but some people will falsely accuse him of being guilty by association. Also, let’s not forget Hillary Clinton’s race laced stabs at him, which I thought was race bating. Clinton wanted Obama to defend himself on her racist smears, which would have been political suicide because he would be breaking the taboo on race. The double standard is that people can make subtle racist remarks, and the victim can not defend themselves; outside of saying “that was stupid” lest be punished for bringing to view that there is racism in America.

His image the post-race candidate is silly. Does “post-race” even make sense?

Does the book make you want to vote for him? The answer is well yeah, but not entirely.

I wanted to read it because I knew nothing about Obama. I chose this book because it was written before he was a candidate. So, a reader today is missing about 13 years of the Obama story.

As a book it is filled with insights, and is really well written. I think you can feel some of his training as a lawyer; for better or worse. You get the Gen-X perspective on things.

Of course, can Obama beat the real American Hero, McCaine?