And then I shared the following in a email to my co-workers:
Two hundred and thirty-two years after Thomas Jefferson penned the wordsI received many thankful and complementary emails but was also reported to HR and had to have a discussion with my manager.
within the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and
the pursuit of Happiness", we have elected an African-American as the 44th POTUS
all the while many asked if our nation was ready for such a thing. So deeply run
the scars of our inhumanity towards each other caused by slavery and the lack of
respect for life that this injustice has wrought, we still today have to ask if
we are ready for a black man to be president. Maybe it is fitting that this man,
son of a white woman from Kansas "the Free State" in the heart of America and a
black man from the distant shores of Kenya in the continent from which slaves
were brought to this land, should unite us in the understanding that all people
are indeed created equal. The blood of both races flows through his veins. How
symbolic, how right, how just is it that Barack Hussein Obama II should be the
first black man to stand in the office of President of the United States
signaling the final breaking down of the wall caused by the injustice of
slavery.
Many will still ask this question and we may see difficult times in
future days as our nation absorbs the significance of this election. It is my
prayer that we as a nation and as individuals live out the words Thomas
Jefferson was so ardent to add to the Declaration and that we embody the
sentiment, "We hold these truths to be self-evident..." Our nation is a beacon
set upon a hill and the eyes of the world are upon us. May the "someday that we
shall overcome" be this very one.
And in the spirit of his campaign the people answered, "YES WE
CAN!"
I had been low-key at work about the election except for a single campaign button on my purse. We have a casual dress code and yesterday I was wearing an Obama campaign t-shirt I received for walking neighborhoods in Missouri to help get out the vote. I figured the election was over so this couldn't be seen as political campaigning. And I had brought in a poster of my president which I had also just pinned up in my cube. I admit that my computer wallpaper and screen-saver had screen shots from the Obama campaign site. After the conversation, of my own choice and not the suggestion of my manager, I put on a sweater and buttoned it up to conceal my Obama t-shirt, I removed my computer wallpaper and screen saver, removed my campaign button and I sadly took down the poster of my president. I felt truly sorry that my comments had caused offense.
I didn't think at the time that I wrote my comments that they would be offensive, but that rather I was pointing out the historic significance of the election outcome. I should not have sent it realizing that McCain supporters would have been very disappointed. That was something I overlooked in my excitement over this historic event and I do feel bad about that.
However it was brought up to my attention that the complaint had to do with someone who was very religious and that I should understand how deeply religious people would feel about my comments and the election outcome.
The sad thing, is that at that moment in the conversation, I did totally understand since I had previously read James Dobson's letter from 2012. It was not until this morning that it hit me that my email had nothing to do with religion. This was a bogus argument. I could be called up for sending a message over company email about politics and that would be fair, although I was not campaigning and the election results were in and I was speaking about our president-elect in terms of the historical significance of his election. I said nothing about John McCain at all and did not offer Barack Obama as the better candidate.
I myself am a deeply religious person. Of course that is irrelevant to the conversation except that was a reason given for my email being offensive, that a deeply religious person found it so. The stretch would be to say this comment of mine brought religion into discussion, "It is my prayer that we as a nation and as individuals live out the words Thomas Jefferson was so ardent to add to the Declaration and that we embody the sentiment, "We hold these truths to be self-evident..." Our nation is a beacon set upon a hill and the eyes of the world are upon us. May the "someday that we shall overcome" be this very one."
In any case, I am repentant for causing offense to any of my co-workers. I am also deeply grieved that the religious leaders of our nation have so vilified my president to the extent that many in our nation are afraid of their future under his leadership. That is the deepest offense of all.
I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
Buzz it up
