November 6, 2008
We were listening to NPR as my husband drove to work this morning, and I noticed that several of the comments by pundits of various backgrounds all seemed to have the same theme. The underlying message was that after the election of Barack Obama, no one, any more, has an excuse to fail. I commented that I could see a danger in perpetuating that thinking and started talking about privilege. My husband couldn’t figure out what I meant or why I felt the way I did. He tried to explain, “Honey, I think that it just means that now people will just try a little harder.” Now I was infuriated at him. He was puzzled at my response that he missed his turn. “You know I can’t drive and talk,” he said. “Well, I responded, other people can drive and talk. I think you should just try a little harder.” I think he got the message.
