In life, there are moments when the actions of one person can invariably change the history of a nation. In America, there are people whose heroic deeds have been landmarks in the history of the nation. A good example of such kind of people is Jackie Robinson and Barack Obama. Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play in the major baseball league while Barack Obama was the first African American president in the U.S. Both Robinson and Obama had to beat many odds against them to end up where they are today. This short essay seeks to look at the comparative aspects that both men had in their historic breakthroughs in their respective fields.
By closely looking at the lives of the two men, one would be surprised to learn that their childhood was almost similar. One aspect that made them equal is that they both came from broken families. When they were still young boys, both their fathers left them. To many of us who have come from broken families, we can identify how it is hard to move on in life without one parent. Many children from broken families give up hope of living and either join neighborhood gangs or they begin experimenting with drugs. However, despite coming from broken families, both Obama and Robinson held on to a point of attaining notable breakthroughs in their respective fields.
When Robinson was a young boy, he was taunted in the team he played in for the single reason that he was black. However, he ignored their remarks and went on to become the first notable black player in baseball. Likewise, Barrack Obama had to overcome racial slurs to become a prominent lawyer and later on the first black U.S president. As a young boy, Obama took marijuana, alcohol, and cocaine to escape questions of his identity. In high school, Obama grappled with an identity crisis to a point where at times he almost gave up. However, he held on and the fruits- he became president to the most powerful nation in the world.
In the run-up to the general election of 2008, Barack Obama seemed to be the most unlikely candidate to clinch the Democratic Party nomination. This was partly due to his African American origin. However, he ignored skeptics and went on to only win the nomination but also the presidency of this great nation. Looking back, Robinson had to ignore so many skeptics who did not believe that a black man could compete in a major league. This aspect of being despised based on one skin color makes both Robinson and Obama have a common aspect.
The rise of Robinson in baseball and Obama in politics has some crucial things we can liken. The first and most important is that both had to overcome many challenges to get to where they are today. This clearly portrayed patience. Patience in that they were ready to stand a system that did not recognize their rights as American citizens. Both of them could have chosen to give up the struggle and decide to accept the status quo. However, due to their patience, many doors have been opened for black Americans in both politics and baseball. The story of Robinson is even more touching since he had to agree to hold his tongue and fist no matter how provocative he was. As it turned out, these provocations were too many and at times, they were too much to bear even for the whites.
Looking at the story of Robinson and Obama, one does not fail to see that they had the right attitude toward life. Both men had to ignore numerous racial slurs directed toward them to get to where they ended up in life. It is important to learn that their contribution showed and proved to the world that African Americans were capable of achieving and accomplishing something great in life. Their story should serve as a wake-up call to all of us to realize that despite where we are we can wind up by doing something great. Their story also serves as a reminder to those people who still possess bigotry toward blacks that these people can still achieve many things if given the chance.
References
Jeff Tone. Jackie Robinson and Barrack Obama: The pioneers. 2008. The New York Observer. Web.
Michael Castillo. A week for Barriers: Jackie Robinson& Barrack Obama. 2009.
Brooklyn Dodgers. 2010. Web.