Barack Obama could have made history

Barack Obama could have made history in his speech on March 18th 2008. It is extremely unfortunate that he failed to see the opportunity to capitalize on a perfect occasion to really go down in the annals of history as the one who was able to bring about the real change he keeps espousing at any given opportunity. It is very unfortunate indeed that he failed to point out that the manner of hateful rhetoric we have been exposed to in the previous week or so is just exactly the kind of thing that prevent us as a country from moving forward and achieving that utopian goal of equality and justice for all. The kind of hatred and vitriol that some on both sides spew out is nothing short of loathsome, repugnant, and vile in the extreme. That is why the opportunity missed by Barack Obama is even more disheartening. The time is long past due for us to have a leader that will bring about what we need as a race to prosper or even survive beyond a few fleeting moments in time and to do it with dignity.

There will never be equality in this country until the black community can manage to let go of slavery. It is used by many as an excuse, a crutch and justification for a myriad of things, from joblessness to HIV-aids and everything you could possibly conceive of in between. The never-ending victim angle is alive and well and in play whenever the complaints of racism are trotted out. That’s not to say we don’t have problems to overcome, however playing the blame game is not the way to solve our predicament. There will never be equality in this country until one side ceases beating up the other over past acts of atrocities. For some it was slavery such as was perpetrated against the Jews in Rome and in Egypt, or the atrocities against the Jews in Germany, the genocide in Darfur, the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, the bigoted and at times lethal treatment of the Irish in the early 1900s, the terrible treatment of the Italians at the hands of people like Mussolini. The black on black slave trade of the 1800s, or the slavery here in our own country in the same era, or September 1, 2001. All these dark times and so many more are the history of mankind whether it is 7 years ago, 60 years ago, 150 years ago or 2000 years ago, the point is that the human race has been perpetrating crimes against itself for as long as man has been on this planet. We must now seize the opportunity to examine our foolish and destructive behavior. By doing so we can only hope that we will find a solution to our insanity.

It is a shame that some in this country use to their advantage the divisive rhetoric that on a daily basis can be found in all walks of life and by all manner of people. Some continue to dangle the ever-elusive carrot of a colorblind society in front of people in the form of social programs that do little more than keep people dependant upon the system and the government in general. Furthermore these same groups use their power over others to further their own political agenda. They use the power of the vote from these oppressed groups that they so insidiously profess to be helping for their own self-serving purposes. We must quit just giving lip service to the phrase of putting an end to the politics of the past and look forward to a future that is bright with hope and change. That should be the true message of hope and change so continually expounded by the presidential candidates. We can only hope that perhaps in the future a candidate will join our fight to stay a viable society. Unfortunately I see no one at this time who can coalesce the peoples of our country and the world, to bring about what is so dearly needed.