Dear Editor,
I have absolutely no regrets about the glowing way in which I wrote on the election of Barack Obama as head of the White House and the first black president of the USA: ‘Obama has become another Moses to the world’ (SN, Nov 2008).
The encomiums lavished on him I think were in order; I even wrote a poem in his honour-‘Dream Accomplished.’ And neither was I under any illusion about him turning the White House black, water into wine or stone into bread! I certainly expected no miracles; they hardly happen back to back. For me the most significant and historical thing regarding this event, probably since the birth of the USA was that a black man had been catapulted to the presidency, a thing deemed impossible and unimaginable by many in their lifetime. When it actually happened many were caught wide awake in a dream. I had likened Obama’s victory to that of the great boxer Jack Johnson in 1912, the first black heavyweight champion of the USA; a proud and uplifting moment for blacks in the USA and the world beyond, that caused them to stand tall and which they wore like a badge of honour, though it brought no change to the inhuman manner in which they were treated.
I also mentioned that the teary-eyed reaction across the globe of different races/faces was hard to describe in mere words. It was in part for blacks, a case of centuries of bottled up emotion; of the many wrongs and injustices; the shattered dreams and loved ones lost at the hands of racial bigotry. And there were also tears of joy, renewed hopes, dreams and a brighter future – cleansing tears. It was almost impossible to fathom their feelings and thoughts about this changing of the guard where formerly only white millionaires from the ruling elite had been eligible contenders for this superbly constructed edifice called the White House, built by the sweat and blood of their ancestors who were slaves. Well, that historical and momentous occasion has come and gone and Barack Obama, a black man, is the President of USA, and those who were naïve enough to think that the colour of the President would have brought about any fundamental change in US behaviour and policy were sadly mistaken, and are now somewhat disillusioned.
One good thing about Obama’s presidency is that it has awakened many from their dream and illusion that being president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces means being in total command; it is more of an appellation – being in office but not in control. The USA going a long time back has not changed its colour and stripes; it’s all a question of policy, not the colour of the president. Succeeding administrations have only been mere carbon copies of those before; a bit of change in strategy here and there, but basically the same, same policy/baton. Interestingly, blacks in the USA used to refer to the administration’s oppressive system as the ‘Man,’ and many of them still do so today because the conditions for them haven’t changed much, even with the arrival of a black president. Their moment of glory, pride, sense of accomplishment came and went when he won; it all seemed now to have been so fleeting, and they now must face the reality of dealing with the ‘Man’ and his policy. Black folks, coloured folks and Third World people cannot discern much difference between former US administrations and the present; it’s half a dozen of one and six of the other, be it Reagan/Bush or Clinton/Obama, much as some would want to blow their trumpet.
You look around the world today and see what’s happening, who sets and dictates the order of things; who are the people in the forefront screaming nonstop about saving the world, and making it free for democracy, free from pollution, from nuclear disaster; who talks about protecting the environment; of hunger and starvation, and most of all of ridding the world of the ‘greatest danger’ – terrorism! But from careful observation you are confused; who are the perpetrators and who are the victims? It’s all a hypocritical hocus pocus game where the system is set and controlled by the very people who shout the most, creating the very conditions where the poor continuously remain poor while the rich get richer – a perfect recipe for the perpetuation of suffering, crime, inequity, injustice, terrorism and war, yet they have the gall to expect world peace. Peter Tosh was in order when he sang: “I don’t want no peace, just give me equal rights and justice.” For Obama it was like reaching for the end of the rainbow in his attempt to improve the conditions of the people from among whom he was born.
Yours faithfully,
Frank Fyffe
