Argumentative Essay: America's First Black President

America’s First Black President
Years of terror and war brought Americans of all ethnicities to believed that a time for change had come; change came in the form of two minorities who had the ability and desire to revitalize a country that had been burdened with doubt and financial frailty. Times have changed, race is still controversy topic, but due to programs like Affirmative Action and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, minorities are stepping up to take places of power in our country. African Americans are no longer the disadvantaged citizens they once were considered to be, the media, internet and entertainment industries have evolved the thinking of Americans leading to the social acceptance of African Americans and other minority
Some say that President Obama was the least qualified of all major candidates in both parties and the farthest to the left; with absolutely no military experience and no foreign policy experience. If this is true, then the question that begs to be answered is what prompted Americans to elect him as their President. Is the war on terror the only contributing factor that resulted in the election of an African American man as President of a country who historically only elected married Christian white middle aged males as their President or did the power of the media and youth lead to this victory? No, the war on terror is not what determined the 44th President of the United States. President Obama’s landmark victory was due, in part, to a groundswell of support among young Americans; he won nearly 70% of the vote among young Americans under 25. Unlike the African American who ran in the past President Obama had the media in his corner; the internet with social networking sites like Facebook and Youtube had significant impact on each candidate’s ability to garner voters support. With 2 million American supporters on Facebook and over 1500 video’s on YouTube about Barack Obama, it’s no wonder that his name and face was recognizable by so many.
Race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation should not have any bearings on the qualification of a presidential candidate; the fact that these characteristic do have influence the perception of a person’s ability proves that America hasn’t come as far as many minorities would hope for. Shunryu Suzuki says “Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure. But unfortunately, although it is true, it is difficult for us to accept it. Because we cannot accept the truth of transience, we suffer.” A change has been made, it’s up to American citizens to accept that minorities are no longer minorities; men and women of every race, religion and sexual orientation know that in electing an African American as President we are one step closer to genuine equality in all