Le Temps
Thursday 17 January 2008
Neither a woman nor a black man as such will change American policy. Neither race nor gender contain any moral value or specific politics. It's as Democrats, should the presidency befall one or the other of these two candidates, that they will change the hateful orientation of the Bush regime. Representing a current of thought organized for the long term beyond personalities and their characteristics, whoever is elected will be able to give a welcome change in the country's direction. That is Americans' principal expectation: to be done with Bushism. Those who offer the best guarantees for that result will have the best chance.
If the opportunity for choosing between a woman and a black man arouses so much excitement, that's because it brings history into play: a double "premier" that reveals changes within the heart of American society. Neither Clinton nor Obama will change America, but it's a changed America that will elect one or the other.
The campaigns of the woman candidate and the black man candidate, their reception by the public and the reactions they provoke send back powerful images of themselves to voters at this time in history.
Two historic social behaviors are being put to the test: racism and sexism. Which remains the most resistant?
From a rational standpoint, racism has lost all its arguments: no one (outside of the Ku Klux Klan) dares defend any longer the idea of natural inequality between the races and a consequent legitimate inequality in social roles. There's no longer any racist ideology.
The same cannot be said of sexism. If the principle of human equality between the genders is virtually a given, that of equality of roles and functions is not. There remain great currents of thought in defense of the woman at home, mother exclusively, armed with as many statistical and sociological studies as they need to establish their viewpoint.
Rational balance is one thing. But emotional balance is another. Even without any arguments, racism and sexism will endure. In what form? Residual or massive? Which more than the other? We don't know. We explore. We play. Are you Clinton or Obama?
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