Desi Manifesto Blog: The Forum for South Asian American Men

Is it like looking in the mirror? The mirror from BarackObama.com, that is.

[Posted by guest blogger Sharat Raju] When I was a kid, I wanted to be one of two things: centerfielder for the Chicago Cubs or President of the United States.

Both, at the time, seemed realistic. I was quite a good athlete and, as an American-born son of Indian immigrants, I believed wholly in the American Dream. I loved American history, politics, and Ronald Reagan. I was too young to truly understand the Reagan years, but I knew the basics as it trickled down to me: America equals The Good Guys, Russia equals The Bad Guys.

The 1980s ended, along with the Cold War. I eventually played varsity sports in high school. But the dream of a career in athletics, let alone hitting leadoff at Wrigley Field, steadily faded.

Much sadder was the realization that I probably would never be president. As I grew into young adulthood, the American Dream that promised to judge me purely by the content of my character did not apply. Although I possessed the hallmarks of an All-American kid – honors student, athlete, leader of my religious youth group – I was not considered traditionally American. I was not Christian, I was not white. This alone was enough to invalidate any chance of being president.

As the 1990s unfolded, politics was revealed to me as a dirty game. The rancor, led by one uninspiring leader after another, left me jaded, uninterested, and detached from domestic politics.

In this new millennium, in this present day, things have changed. We finally have a South Asian candidate running for president – Barack Obama.

Before you point out the obvious, allow me to explain.

In his first book Dreams from My Father, Obama speaks openly about his troubled childhood. He grew up without a racial identity, a brown-skinned kid who immediately stuck out in a crowd and tried to hide his true self. He strived to be accepted by the black community, but also hoped to be evaluated on the basis of his personality, intelligence, and character.

As a young man living and studying in Indonesia, his outsider status as a foreigner gave him a unique perspective on America and the luxuries we take for granted. And it gave him a more thorough understanding of humanity outside of our borders.

Academically gifted, he rose to the top wherever he went. He was not given an advantage because of his skin color, but he excelled because he was strong willed, hardworking, and a gifted thinker.

In the previous three paragraphs, if you replace “black“ with “Indian” or “South Asian,” and replace “Indonesia” with “India” or “Pakistan” or “Sri Lanka,” this could be the biography of thousands in my generation. This is why I know Barack Obama. I am Barack Obama.

A shared history is not enough, of course, to vote for a president. Fortunately, he is an inspiring leader in the mold of Kennedy or King. He has galvanized millions like me to finally take ownership in what seemed like a country that was not interested in owning me.

There are obstacles to South Asian American voting bloc unity; the community is not entirely devoid of its own racism. If I had a dime for every time I had heard an Uncle or Auntie say something racially insensitive or obnoxious about blacks, I would be truly rich. Fear about an African American president seems to be from such a different era that it does not merit the time to refute, but it is a real problem that must end. Put those prejudices aside and vote for character and accomplishments – just as we would like to be judged.

Along the same lines, there is tremendous anti-Muslim sentiment within the multi-faceted South Asian community. In the immediate aftermath of September 11^th, many of us distanced ourselves from Muslims (several Indian-owned businesses initially hung signs that read “We are not Muslims”). Recently, spam emails have falsely claimed the Christian Obama is actually (gasp) a Muslim because his middle name is “Hussein.” The disturbing implication is that a Muslim is not an American and cannot run for president.

How much longer must we tolerate people who do not accept Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and others like me as American? President Barack Hussein Obama could change that, simply by having his name read aloud at the inauguration before the world.

South Asians of all generations should vote for Obama. A vote for him is a vote for me, or my brother, or my brethren whose parents came to this country from the Subcontinent.

A vote for him is a vote for the progress made by the first generation who came here and struggled so their children would have a better future. The future is what Obama represents. It means we, as South Asians, can do anything – even become president.

And maybe even eventually – centerfielder.

Sharat Raju is the award-winning filmmaker of short “American Made” and feature documentary Divided We Fall. He is currently a Directing Fellow at ABC Networks and is a member of South Asians for Obama. Sharat lives in Los Angeles.