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Pagp A4 ^Jnrtlanò (©hsertier August 18. 2004 Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of The Portland Observer O pinion New Blood fo r the GOP? Voters want leaders of varied backgrounds, complexions by M arc H. M oriai . Hie catalyst for this stunning turn of events has been Barack Obama, a 42-year-old Illinois state senator from Chicago who swept a crowded Democratic primary field to capture the party’s Senate nomination. O bam a's rising political star— he was already heavily favored in Illinois to win the General Election— shot across the national political land scape when he was picked to give a major speech at the Democratic National Convention and elec trified not only the convention delegates but a national audience as well. One product of O bam a’s star-turn was the quick decision of the Illinois G OP to appoint a black candidate to oppose him: Alan Keyes. True, G OP officials dutifully declared that Keyes' race was no, a factor in his selection. According to a Chicago Sun-Times report, one spring, to choose Keyes. The second is that Keyes, a prom inent conservative activist w ho’s tw ice run for president, has never lived in Illinois. He lives in M aryland, where in the 1980s and 1990s he twice ran for U.S. Senate, gamering only 29 and 38 percent of the vote, respectively. K eyes’ non-residency in Illinois is legal. In fact, he doesn’t have to move into Illinois until election day. I welcome the Illinois G O P’s move, because it underscores what Barack O bam a's achievements thus far have illuminated: that many voters in Illinois and elsewhere are entirely open to appeals to think about and act on more than their own bread-and-butter issues, and to recognize that those qualified to represent them can come from all sorts o f backgrounds and bear all sorts of complexions. O bam a’s appeal is so refresh ing precisely because he’s inte grated his diverse ethnic heritage, his civic involvement and record of service in office, and his posi tions on issues o f concern to voters into a formidable political persona. Will the GOP, no, just in Illi- v nois, but across the country, get the message? Has it finally awo ken to the fact that it needs to act forcefully on its rhetoric about inclusion— that there’s political hay to be made from it? Does importing the highly- visible Alan Keyes to Illinois represent, as some suspect, a cynical sacrificiaTlamb maneuver? Or is it evidence that Republicans really recognize their political need for new blood? Who would have thought that amid the great spectacle o f the presidential election another fascinating contest for national office would sud denly develop? Who would have thought that when issues that revolve around race appeared firmly set on the back burner of the season's political discourse, the issue o f race would take center-stage in unusual ways? And be grounded in the state that was the I home of Abraham Lincoln, the “Great Emancipa tor?” And who would have thought that that state’s Republican Party, which, like its counterparts everywhere has continually publicly bemoaned its inability to field viable black candidates for virtu ally any office, would act in a way that guaranteed its selecting a high-profile one? O f course I’m referring to the contest for the U. S, Senate in Illinois— a contest which, barring a completely unforeseen development, will pro top state party official said, “It just turned out to duce only the third African American to sit in the be that way. We don’t look at color the way the U.S. Senate in the last 100 years and only the fifth Democrats do. We look at the candidates and since the end o f the Civil War. where they stand on the issues.” Because both the Democratic and Republican M edia editorial reaction to such com m ents candidates are African Americans— the first time for the most part has ranged from incredulity to this has happened in a race for the U.S. Senate in scorn. One reason was that state G O P leaders American history— it is important in unusual and bypassed nearly a dozen w hite candidates, some potentially expansive ways. of whom had run in the R epublican prim ary this H Because both the Democratic and Republican candidates are African Americans it is important in unusual and potentially expansive ways. Marc H. Moriai is president and chief execu tive officer of the National Urban League. Where is Today’s Muhammad Ali? by J udge G reg M athis From athletic shoes to sports drinks, today’s major athletes can and do, hawk everything under the sun. Unfortunately, when it comes to political and social issues, these celebrities are uncharacteristically silent. It was not always the case that sports figures collected m ajor endorsem ent pay- checks and remained silent on other issues. Muhammad Ali changed his name from Cassius Clay in an act of social and political conscious ness. His outspokenness cost him much in his career, yet he continued to speak out. His bravery and conviction is missing from the great majority of current sports stars. Not all entertainers fall victim to the slave mentality of “take the money and shut up.” Musicians and actors alike speak out in the media. Danny Glover has been recognized by numerous organizations for his humanitarianism and activism. Sean “P. Diddy” Combs has launched a “Vote or Die” media blitz in an effort to reinforce the importance of voting with young people. Russell Simmons isa highly vocal politi cal and social activist. With musicians and dunk, home run and touch down. All one has to do is be politically aware and socially conscious. In this election year, there is much to de bate: the economy, the real reasons behind the war in Iraq, genocide in African nations, — ------------------------------------------------------- — education and so forth. These are issues that af fect and impact our com munity. Remembering the brave legacy of Muhammad Ali, a man who was stripped of his boxing title because of his stand against the Vietnam W ar, to d a y ’s a th le te s f t should be empowered to take similar stands against actors actively speaking out on social and politi the major issues of the day. This is not just the cal issues, one cannot help but to look at profes right thing to do, it the essential thing for these sional athletes and wonder why they are so athletes to do. silent. Judge Greg Mathis is chairman o f the One does not have to be the “greatest of all Rainbow PUSH-Excel Board and a national time” in order to speak out and help influence board member o f the Southern Christian those who watch, praise and cheer every slam Leadership Conference. A ll one has to do is be politically aware and socially conscious. 1 ^lort hmh (OhserUrr 3 http /rw w w .p o ille n d o b e e iv e i to m / Pte y«w £<* ^ B#c‘ ’ t Fjvcxtes J J loots -3 A Word from the World Our global village is in pain by B ernice P owell J ackson I have just returned from an international meeting of church leaders from around the world - from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Pacific as well as Europe and North America. As so of ten happens, they have a different message for us than the one we read in the newspapers or see on television. Their message is that security is indeed a problem for the rest of the world - bu, for most of the world security means whether families will have food to eat, clean water to drink, control of their own natural resources, a clean environment as well as the right to choose their own governments. And for most of the rest of the world, the U.S. right now is seen as a threat to that security. That’s a pretty sobering message. But there are reasons for it and it would be wise of us to listen closely to them. Security to the rest of the world, especially the developing world, is tied to economic justice. We heard many stories about how their people are suffering greater gaps between the wealthy few and the many poor. In some of these cases, church leaders traced their nations’ participation in World Bank re-financings and development schemes which required, for example, poor nations to use multi national corporations and accounting firms to priva tize water and other public service, thereby costing the people much more to just buy water. They pointed to the fact that many developing nations have been required by the World Bank and others to downsize their governmental payrolls, thereby increasing the number of unemployed in nations struggling to create jobs. They pointed to the fact that public education, health care and social secu rity are collapsing in many of these nations, as they struggle to pay off even the interest payments on debts incurred. The global village is in pain and our ears seem to be deaf to that pain. Our meeting took place in Africa, where HIV and deaths from AIDS imperil the Sub-Saharan conti nent. There are some 42 million people with the disease and 35 million of them are Africans. Most of them are women. President Bush promised $15 billion in U.S. aid for HIV/AIDS work in Africa, but closer examination reveals that the pledge was not for new dollars and nowhere near that amount has yet reached Africa. The message for us is that security for the rest of the world means that we must find ways to under stand that our responsibility as the world’s super power is to be peacemakers. We cannot turn our . backs on the fact that most of the world, including ourclosest allies, now look warily at the U.S. and are fearful of what the future holds for the world if we remain on our present course. Security for the rest of the world is tied to finding ways to live peacefully in a multi-faith world. It is imperative that leaders of all faiths around the world work together for peace with justice in a world where there seems to be too little of both. The people of the world have a message for us. The question is do we want to hear it. Bernice Powell Jackson is executive minister for Justice and Witness Ministries for the United Church o f Christ. 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