Caramel toned skin. Post-barber shop visit, his hairline surrounds his oval shaped face with precision. His freshly pressed white collared shirt stands alone. Oddly enough, he's not wearing a tie. His crisp oxford shirt is only accompanied by a navy blue suit. His style is subtle. His words are concise, yet woven through with a charm that only movie stars possess. He has captivated thousands, shocked millions. His plan for the United States is flawlessly flexible—people, who never trusted the government, now find themselves slipping into a trance, losing both traditional balance and pessimism. He has accumulated a fair amount of "hate" from opponents and critics. But all in all, he has achieved rock star status.

More than that, he gracefully dances on the age-old colorline DuBois gregariously articulated. He injected America with the most potent serum: hope; all the while feeding us daily vitamins promising change. Barack Obama is an inspiration, a constant reminder that with enough tenacity, the "impossible" is merely a lingering afterthought. However, there is one question that has been bothering me like a day-old mosquito bite: is Obama's success just one great, big distraction?

Although I have always been skeptical of the political arena and the politicians who actively engage in it; I view it as a sport, and I, the spectator. Throughout the years, I have witnessed controversy, broken promises, harsh words, reputations assassinated. But I must say, unabashedly, that I am a supporter of Senator Obama. He seems, for lack of a better word, pure. His dedication to providing the country with a government that works, has protected him from corruption. However, Barack Obama is not the lone savior of the American dream.

It is not that I have little faith in Senator Obama and his message. I genuinely trust his vision and intentions. But he is one man who is seeking to run a country that has for centuries rested on the backs of the poor. In the most recent issue of Rolling Stone, Obama is described as the paradoxical candidate and it's true. I fear that his unprecedented success will paralyze progress.

Believe it or not, if Obama is elected the next president of the United States in November, Chicago's rising poverty rate will not magically decline. I know readers don't want to hear this, but there will still be illiterate high school students who will be thrust out of the Chicago Public School System on the day of their graduation. There will be an even more alarming number of students who won't graduate. And next year, just like last year, half a million Chicago residents will rely on emergency food from the Greater Chicago Food Depository. The teen birth rate in Cook County will continue to climb. These are not simply cynical predictions, but it is reality. (If Senator McCain, as creepy and seasoned as he is on the political scene, is elected, I am confident that those numbers will rise—if not instantly, then gradually.)

The average Chicago citizen is the solution to the city's educational, economic and health disparities. Yes, it will help to have someone like Barack Obama at the top to act as a model, but on a small-scale, we have to take back our own communities. We have to be the movers and shakers that don't get media coverage. Legislation can't give a child hope, like a mentor can; it can't protect the youth from stray bullets like a community center can; it can't solve our issues like we can. As activists, we have to be a watchdog and ally for our government; holding up our end, while keeping public officials on their toes.

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Tyler Yarbrough

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