When a then Senator Obama was running for his party's nomination and later for the presidency I often thought that the major benefit of electing a man of color would be that of his ability to walk into the minority and ghetto communities to lead the people from their economic and cultural doldrums by inspiring them to work hard to reverse their unfortunate circumstances to insure better lives for their children. I believed then that the charismatic Obama was the man capable of this momentous achievement. I still do.
So, just as the President reached out to school children through his speech today, hopefully he will realize and fulfill what I had foreseen to be his destiny and, yes, his responsibility to the minority and ghetto communities...and to America. For Obama not to do so would be squandering a potentially great moment in American history. Furthermore, at least in my mind, not capitalizing on such an obvious opportunity would label Obama as an underachieving if not a failed president.
This is an endeavor that could never be availed a "white" President. Any such attempt to enter the minority communities would be considered a disingenuous intrusion by an "outsider" and would most surely be met with an explosive political backlash and possibly even some explosions of actual physical violence around the country. But these problems would not greet Obama. He would be welcomed. His success in "lifting up" the minorities and reversing the fortunes of those in the ghettos would forever change the fabric of America; and you can bet that Dr. King would be smiling.
If President Obama is to leave a truly indelible mark as one of the great Presidents in American history, his mission is clear. And his time to do so is here and now.
Albiwan..
Five police officers shot down in Dallas and predictably Obama sinks to the lowest common denominator by pushing for gun control, which is nothing more than an appeal to his political base. One day earlier Obama made a careless comment about racism in the police community, another appeal to his black political base. Apparently the gunmen in Dallas took Obama's words seriously and decided to solve the problem of racist cops by shooting them. You see, Obama still blames the whites for the pathetic moral state of the black community. Sept 8, 2009 I wrote "Obama's Indelible Mark." Basically, it was an appeal for Obama to instill
ReplyDelete(Cont.) in the black community a sense of responsibility for its actions and future. Instead he threw gasoline on the Sparks of racism. Obama's politics have destroyed his legacy. If he had a conscience he would feel shame for leaving the black community in worse condition than prior to his now failed presidency.
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