Obama’s Transcendence of Race
By Vusi Moloi © 2009
President Obama has demonstrated an impeccable skill in refusing to be earthbound by an emotionally charged divisive issue of race after coming under bitter-tinged attacks led by a heckling Republican Joe Wilson who brazenly shouted “you lie” to President Obama over his Health Care Reform an important plank of Mr. Obama’s political platform during last year’s US elections. Despite the strident attacks by the opposition President Obama stayed the course above the fray like an African fish that does not allow the sulphuric salt from the salty depths to over-penetrate its skin.
Incredible Finesse
President Barack Obama is a historic figure given his racial background as the first person of African descent to become the President of the United States. During the election campaign Mr. Obama showed an incredible finesse in navigating the treacherous waters of race and still managed to endear himself to the predominately White electorate. The North American society is hyper sensitive to the issue of racism and has developed a variety of defense mechanisms around the issue. For this reason a race issue was used heavily by the anti-Obama people as an effective tool of alienation in order to turn political opinion against him but the strategy failed.
This week the President invoked his seemingly endless finesse when confronted with the questions of race in the light of the comments made by the former President Jimmy Carter who suggested that a lot of anti-Obama sentiments were motivated by the fact that he was an African-American whom others viewed as unqualified to lead this great country.
Addressing major media organizations including CNN’s John King President Obama outlined his position in a sophisticated fashion “Are there people out there who don’t like me because of race? I am sure there are... That is not the overriding issue here. I think there are people who are anti-Government. I think there are… there has been a long standing debate in this country that is usually that much more fierce during times of transition where when presidents are trying to bring about big changes, I mean the things that were said about FDR(Franklin Delano Roosevelt), pretty similar to the things that were said about me, that he was a communist, he was a socialist, things that were said about Ronald Reagan when he was trying to reverse some of the new deal programs.. They were pretty vicious as well.”
The same comments were echoed on ABC when President Obama said “Are there some people out there who don’t like me because of my race? I am sure there are. Are there some people who vote for me because of my race? There are probably some of those too.”
Intellectual Prowess
The intellectual prowess of President Obama is nothing short of amazing. The ability to finesse an extremely divisive issue of race enables him to exit the crushing jaws of political opposition like the great Canadian seagull that boasts an instantaneous vertical lift above the ground whenever it gets bounded by the forces of reaction.
President Obama’s Press Secretary Robert Gibbs underscored the fact that it was important to put emotions in check “despite the depths of our beliefs” while having important political debates without making anyone "feel uncomfortable". The question of debating contentious issues within the confines of civility of discourse requires a non-partisan approach and restraint of self-interest. The most fierce opposition to the Health Care Reform comes from the insurance industry 38% of which employs less than 20 persons per organization. The Health Care Reform could enable the government to work more directly with the insurance carriers who comprise 62% of the industry effectively reducing if not eliminating the middle man with a minimal impact on the overall job statistics.
The Paradoxical Fact of Socialism
The Republicans have done a good job in defending the business establishment and have traditionally regarded what they viewed as big government to be bad for the structure of the economy hence their vehement dismissal of the Health Care Reform as an exercise in socialism.
The paradoxical fact of interest is that socialism is a good thing for big business like $750 billion bailout to giant insurance companies like AIG (American International Group) and big banks like Citigroup something that has angered the taxpayers. You see how it works? When the government gives bailouts to big business (business socialism) it’s a good cause but when that bailout (citizen socialism) goes to a taxpayer it’s an evil socialism. This explains why socialism will always live side by side with capitalism because the capitalist business needs the socialist government bailouts to thrive. The same principle applies to the concept of subsidy vis-à-vis welfare i.e. when the government gives money to a business enterprise it’s a good subsidy whereas the same money that goes to a taxpayer is referred to as an evil welfare system.
How Is It Possible To Transcend Race?
Mr. Obama’s shrewd thinking understands that the issues at stake are not racial but rather economic. This writer has articulated this fact in other articles like Obama’s Ground Troops Tackle the Last Frontier to show that the premise of racism is to distract from substantive issues of economic control so that we all get emotionally embroiled in matters that have no bearing on the real transformation of people’s lives. The strategy has proven effective in alienating certain groups from the mainstay of the economy. This explains why President Obama was quick to distance himself from the idea of racism in order to stay focused on the real issues that have a bearing on the economic future of the people.
The astute President Obama also understands the powerful sorcery of race in fragmenting and alienating the core base of support. A case in point are the African descendants who have found cohesive solidarity to be an elusive thing for more than 400 years due largely in part to emotionally responding to the issues of race instead of focusing attention on the economic front which is what will change the equation of equality in the final analysis.
Conclusion
The advent of Mr. Obama’s Presidency has injected a new perspective on dealing with issues of race and his consistent refusal to be earthbound by his racial background has given him powerful wings to vertically lift himself off the ground. The new generation will do well to take a page from the great President Mr. Barack Obama and a living legend in his own right.
About the Author
A former South African Television Journalist, Vusi Moloi is a published author of a contextual poetry book, A Goodbye To My Little Troubles, and maintains a blog, Zulumathabo on the Internet.
President Obama has demonstrated an impeccable skill in refusing to be earthbound by an emotionally charged divisive issue of race after coming under bitter-tinged attacks led by a heckling Republican Joe Wilson who brazenly shouted “you lie” to President Obama over his Health Care Reform an important plank of Mr. Obama’s political platform during last year’s US elections. Despite the strident attacks by the opposition President Obama stayed the course above the fray like an African fish that does not allow the sulphuric salt from the salty depths to over-penetrate its skin.
Incredible Finesse
President Barack Obama is a historic figure given his racial background as the first person of African descent to become the President of the United States. During the election campaign Mr. Obama showed an incredible finesse in navigating the treacherous waters of race and still managed to endear himself to the predominately White electorate. The North American society is hyper sensitive to the issue of racism and has developed a variety of defense mechanisms around the issue. For this reason a race issue was used heavily by the anti-Obama people as an effective tool of alienation in order to turn political opinion against him but the strategy failed.
This week the President invoked his seemingly endless finesse when confronted with the questions of race in the light of the comments made by the former President Jimmy Carter who suggested that a lot of anti-Obama sentiments were motivated by the fact that he was an African-American whom others viewed as unqualified to lead this great country.
Addressing major media organizations including CNN’s John King President Obama outlined his position in a sophisticated fashion “Are there people out there who don’t like me because of race? I am sure there are... That is not the overriding issue here. I think there are people who are anti-Government. I think there are… there has been a long standing debate in this country that is usually that much more fierce during times of transition where when presidents are trying to bring about big changes, I mean the things that were said about FDR(Franklin Delano Roosevelt), pretty similar to the things that were said about me, that he was a communist, he was a socialist, things that were said about Ronald Reagan when he was trying to reverse some of the new deal programs.. They were pretty vicious as well.”
The same comments were echoed on ABC when President Obama said “Are there some people out there who don’t like me because of my race? I am sure there are. Are there some people who vote for me because of my race? There are probably some of those too.”
Intellectual Prowess
The intellectual prowess of President Obama is nothing short of amazing. The ability to finesse an extremely divisive issue of race enables him to exit the crushing jaws of political opposition like the great Canadian seagull that boasts an instantaneous vertical lift above the ground whenever it gets bounded by the forces of reaction.
President Obama’s Press Secretary Robert Gibbs underscored the fact that it was important to put emotions in check “despite the depths of our beliefs” while having important political debates without making anyone "feel uncomfortable". The question of debating contentious issues within the confines of civility of discourse requires a non-partisan approach and restraint of self-interest. The most fierce opposition to the Health Care Reform comes from the insurance industry 38% of which employs less than 20 persons per organization. The Health Care Reform could enable the government to work more directly with the insurance carriers who comprise 62% of the industry effectively reducing if not eliminating the middle man with a minimal impact on the overall job statistics.
The Paradoxical Fact of Socialism
The Republicans have done a good job in defending the business establishment and have traditionally regarded what they viewed as big government to be bad for the structure of the economy hence their vehement dismissal of the Health Care Reform as an exercise in socialism.
The paradoxical fact of interest is that socialism is a good thing for big business like $750 billion bailout to giant insurance companies like AIG (American International Group) and big banks like Citigroup something that has angered the taxpayers. You see how it works? When the government gives bailouts to big business (business socialism) it’s a good cause but when that bailout (citizen socialism) goes to a taxpayer it’s an evil socialism. This explains why socialism will always live side by side with capitalism because the capitalist business needs the socialist government bailouts to thrive. The same principle applies to the concept of subsidy vis-à-vis welfare i.e. when the government gives money to a business enterprise it’s a good subsidy whereas the same money that goes to a taxpayer is referred to as an evil welfare system.
How Is It Possible To Transcend Race?
Mr. Obama’s shrewd thinking understands that the issues at stake are not racial but rather economic. This writer has articulated this fact in other articles like Obama’s Ground Troops Tackle the Last Frontier to show that the premise of racism is to distract from substantive issues of economic control so that we all get emotionally embroiled in matters that have no bearing on the real transformation of people’s lives. The strategy has proven effective in alienating certain groups from the mainstay of the economy. This explains why President Obama was quick to distance himself from the idea of racism in order to stay focused on the real issues that have a bearing on the economic future of the people.
The astute President Obama also understands the powerful sorcery of race in fragmenting and alienating the core base of support. A case in point are the African descendants who have found cohesive solidarity to be an elusive thing for more than 400 years due largely in part to emotionally responding to the issues of race instead of focusing attention on the economic front which is what will change the equation of equality in the final analysis.
Conclusion
The advent of Mr. Obama’s Presidency has injected a new perspective on dealing with issues of race and his consistent refusal to be earthbound by his racial background has given him powerful wings to vertically lift himself off the ground. The new generation will do well to take a page from the great President Mr. Barack Obama and a living legend in his own right.
About the Author
A former South African Television Journalist, Vusi Moloi is a published author of a contextual poetry book, A Goodbye To My Little Troubles, and maintains a blog, Zulumathabo on the Internet.
posted by Vusi Moloi at
9:41 AM
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