This ain't politically correct. This might offend my political connects. – Jay Z
No one said it was easy being the Head of the American Empire. Every two months someone is grading President Barack Obama on his performance. I can’t remember previous presidents being graded in this manner. But since he is the “First Black” President, it is of no surprise. That means he is graded on a different presidential scale. Such is life!!! But it’s well within the rights of American Citizens to critique their leaders. If you listen to the Mainstream Media, they would have you believe that “every race and gender has a bone to pick with Obama.”
If you listen to Black Talk Radio, some black folks are heated with the 1st Brother in Chief. They are upset because they feel he does not care about black folks. High unemployment rates for black men and problems with metropolitan school districts are serious points of contention. I understand the pain in their voices but I believe they forgot something important. Obama didn’t run on a black issues platform. His run for the White House was based on America being color-blind. So there is no need for black folks to be upset about something Obama didn’t promise. What we can be upset about is his philosophy of “a rising tide lifts all ships.” Uneven unemployment numbers based on race and ongoing discrimination in hiring can’t be overlooked. It’s apparent that some people are riding in motorboats and others canoes.
What bothers me is not the criticism of Obama but the complaints from black folks when he is criticized. It’s as if he can’t do wrong and if you have a problem with him you are a traitor to your race. Why do Black Folks place such blind faith in their elected leaders? These people make a living off of telling you what you want to hear. They are most effective when you hold their feet to the fire. I don’t think that Obama doesn’t care about black folks. I believe he has different people in his ear (asking for STUFF) and he has to please them all. If you look at most modern day presidents, different ethnic groups had to stay on top of them in order to push their agendas. Why do we act like because Obama is black things will be different? If you look at who is surrounding him, you can see that not much has changed since Bill Clinton was in office. He practically has the Clinton Administration working for him. And although Clinton was the originally 1st black president (Per Toni Morrison), ethnic groups had to stay on him too.
Why isn’t it possible to separate Obama the man from Obama the President? How are we supposed to keep our politicians honest when we hold allegiances to them based on race? I’m personally not pleased with some of Obama’s decisions but I don’t think he is a total failure. There is a difference between wanting someone to fail and giving them constructive feedback. As black folks we need to know the difference. We can’t have serious debates regarding the issues if we can’t accept different viewpoints. The year 2010 is around the corner and “WE” have got to do better. We have people that don’t even know what the public option is and why we need it. It’s obvious that black folks don’t understand how the political game is played. We have to hold these politicians accountable regardless of race or gender. They work for us!!! They are not celebrities!!! If we treat them as such, they gain a false sense of security. Then they become lazy and stop doing what we elected them to do. In the end, that’s when it comes back to bite us in the behind (City of Detroit anyone???).
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