6 posts tagged “obama”
Actually, no. That would be Dick Cheny. But Obama's speech before the NAACP last night scared the BeeJeezus out of me. Far from being inspirational and inspiring, I found it to be mean-spirited and condescending. If you remove the revival tent theatrics and rhetoric, Obama essentially said this: if you are poor in America, it's your own fault, and the Federal Government IS NOT going to help you. (That money is for the banks).
I tuned in late, so perhaps I missed the part where he promised to scrap or overhaul the Department of Education so that it functioned to provide a free quality education for every American. Or the part where he promised the states $100 billion dollars or so to spend on a "green" curriculum, buildings and grounds, physical education, arts, nutritious food, and computer labs for their schools. And maybe another couple of billion or so for salaries, so that only the best and brightest would be eligible to teach.
Instead, I heard a lot of typical blame-the-victim Repulicanistic morality play crap. Excuse me, I mean cri-zap. Mr. Obama actually said that it didn't matter if you were poor, being raised by a single Mom, and that your school didn't have any books or supplies or was falling down around your ears; "you" should still be able to succeed. "After all" he said, "look at me. I was raised by a single Mom."
Excusem moi? How many African Americans are being raised by Caucasian women? Even if she were poor, she still benefited from white privilege. This is not to say it was easy raising a mixed-race child in this country; I commend her for a job well done. But this is not analogous to being a typical teenage Mom in the 'hood, and it was disingenuous for him to suggest that it is. And while it is of course imperative that people take more responsibility for themselves and be held accountable for their actions, it is also imperative society as a whole, and governments in particular, help those who cannot help themselves. Otherwise, what is their reason to exist?
If I were a member of the NAACP, what I would have wanted to hear Mr. Obama say was that he was going to make sure every American had equal access to health care, education, and food, no matter what the cost, because it was a matter of National Security. That he was going to be sure that there were no "glass ceilings" anywhere for anyone in this country. And that he was going to stop killing brown people all over the world, effective immediately. Instead, Obama essentially ignored the problems of the African American and other poor communities just as he did throughout his campaign. Maybe Obama is not the Anti-Christ, but he certainly is no Savior.
The irony is that Barack Obama won the nomination because he is not perceived as being "black" by the people whose votes count: white Americans. If Obama were to be perceived as "acting black" like say, Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson, Hillary would have won easily. Whites accept Obama precisely because he doesn't act "black." And by "black," I mostly mean speaking in the modified Southern accent known as "ebonics."
There is no such institution as the "black community." African Americans have as many different opinions about Obama as do white Americans. Many "blacks" (and whites) regard him as some sort of Messiah, like Martin L. King. Others believe his nomination will mean the glass ceiling will be lifted in political (read: corporate) America. And still others see him as simply another politician mouthing platitudes in order to get elected. His denunciation of his pastor was a serious blow to his credibility for many African Americans.
If Barck Obama is elected, he will inherit a war in Iraq, Afghanistan, possibly Iran, and also possibly somewhere in South America. He has talked about attacking Pakistan, and his presumptive running mate threatened to "obliterate" Iran. He will have to deal with the fact that the treasury is empty, that many people have no jobs, housing, health care, or food, and that the consumer economy is collapsing. The color of his skin will become his greatest liability when these situations worsen. And they will.
Barack Obama showed all the backbone of a jellyfish. All he had to do was say that Rev. Wright is entitled to his opinion, and that he didn't agree with some of the things he says. Then he should have laid out a plan to rescue the economy, end the war, and fund Universal health care. Instead, he came across as weak and disloyal.
Jerimiah Wright For President!
– D.
