I Like the Black Guy

I like Barak Obama - because of what he stands for, because of what he says and because he's black.

What's important isn't that Obama is black but that he's not white. A succession of white men has led the United States to the sorry state in which it finds itself today. A nation where, in my lifetime, class divide has never been greater; where the country has been enfeebled by profligate spending and irresponsible taxation policies; where the hope of future generations not yet in existence has already been squandered; where the nation has debased itself in the eyes of all other nations and stands largely distrusted, even loathed. Obama, I think, isn't of that mould. That, I fervently hope, will let him be the leader to push America's "reset" button.

I'm no expert on America. I did my undergrad down there back when Vietnam was the country's big concern and avoiding the draft the main interest of a lot of my college classmates. It was also a time of incredible, often violent, racial tensions that periodically erupted in riots that left entire communities fire gutted and a legacy of sullen, simmering anger in the aftermath. It was an interesting point in time to get introduced to race relations, US-style.

I went to the United States figuring the racial problems were the white man's fault. It wasn't long before I came to realize that a condition so intractable, so miserable and violent and destructive was beyond the doing of any one race. It really did take two to do that tango.

As the decades passed (and from the safety of my perch back in Canada) I watched as racial tensions eased enough to allow noticeable progress. Blacks and whites, it seemed, were nearing an understanding - that critical first step in forging a new, better future for both. Then, during the reign of Bush II the ugliness surfaced again in places like Jena, making me wonder whether my hope wasn't misguided.

I may be naive but I see in Obama and hear in his words the prospect that this man in the Oval Office might break down a lot of the walls,resentments, lies, excuses and prejudices that have plagued race relations in the United States. In that he may lift up the entire black population in his nation and other minorities as well.

Viewed from abroad I suspect an Obama presidency would be the signal other nations and other people want and need to give America another chance, to welcome it back into the community of nations and its rightful place in the world.

There's so much at stake in this election. There is a real risk in the perpetuation of the oligarchy from the election of any of the Republican candidates and possibly even Hillary also. That's like a cancer on the nation. The risks are too great for America and for the rest of us. That's why I'm rooting for the black guy. America needs Barak Obama.


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Now I've read some criticism of Obama on other blogs - he's not black enough, came from a privileged upbringing, that sort of thing. So what? He doesn't have "street", you're right. If he did, he wouldn't have made it into the primaries and he would have had absolutely no chance of winning the Democratic party's nomination much less the election. At least he's not an old white man packaged in a skirt like Ms. Expedience 2008.