January 20th, 2009 Barack “Messiah” Obama…
A little under an hour to go, and the hype is amazing. Alright, yes, I am sitting in my bedroom with my Cat; but even so, something amazing is about to happen.
Now, I’ve said this before, and I certainly said it the day that Obama was announced as the next President; there is too much hype; too much hope, and too much anticipation and desire about Obama. And it’s wrong.
I’ll put my AS Level education to good use; and in History we’ve been studying the Civil Rights Movement in America. When you really look at it, it’s incredible what has been achieved in the past forty or so years. Even more incredible is how when looking at the attitudes of “White America” in say the early Sixties, and what I am currently watching on the News, you would be forgiven for thinking it was a different country. Certainly at some point, a Black President was bound to occur, and I think we all knew, and hoped it would happen. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve always thought it would be a lot later in my life; maybe around my thirties or forties… Not now!
However, is happening now. It’s brilliant it’s happening now, because it’s proved that America has turned its own cogs. It wants to move forward “Change is going to come”; and I cannot express how excited as individual I am right now.
More importantly than that however, is realism.
I’ve been described by many over the years, and especially my Form Tutor in lower school, he always called me a pessimist. It was always the “Glass is half empty”, and that I never saw the good in anything. Granted, I’m not the most optimistic person alive, but that’s because I think a lot.
For me, Common Sense can now only tell me that Obama, no matter how brilliant he is, and if he came on stage and actually turned water into wine, or better still, dust into a new form of renewable energy; he will never fulfil the hopes and dreams of those many Americans, and even people around the world. And why is this?
Because there is too much hype, too much talk, the expectations which have been put upon his shoulders. the will and desire that so many people hold dear to this many simply surpasses the abilities of a single man, even if as people have been describing him, he is the “Messiah”.
Now that term, that is something completely different. I heard it on LBC when I was walking home; someone phoned in, and the presenter lady referred to him in some form or another as the “Messiah”. I came home, and my Grandparents were discussing him, “He’s the Messiah, he’s been placed here; he’s going to do good.” It’s ridiculous, he’s a President, he is a human, he is a man, he is like any single one of us… Except he’s the first in hopefully a long line of other black Presidents to come.
What I fear the most, and what I said back in November, and even before; is that these expectations are too high. They are unachievable by any extent. He cannot bring about Peace to the world, nor can he lift every Afro-American out of a cycle of poverty, or swipe away the racist views and actions of those in the Deep South. Nor can he stop other countries like Israel or Palestine, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, China, Russia, Cuba, anywhere from every blowing up a single person ever again. He cannot bring peace, he cannot stop actions, wars, breakdown the barriers of hatred, or end the recession. It’s impossible for him to do that. What’s more, as he’s a human, a man, a normal person as such he is bound to make mistakes; and he will make them… Hopefully he won’t start inexplicable wars in the Middle East, but he will do wrong by some people.
And as much as we all like to think that he can change the lives of all the Black families in America, or work some miracle; and I don’t doubt for a second that there are a lot of Black Americans who rightly hope that Obama will do something to help them, will enforce a better plea for equality in Politics, Economics and Society; but at the same time as I’ve heard other people rightly point out… White people also voted for him. Obama cannot neglect White America to favour Black America. He cannot change the cycle of racism, inequality, and pure lack of humanity that still exists in some parts of America. Obama cannot break or change the stereotype of the Black Man; for he is still only one man himself.
The thinking and hope that needs to come about from this, is not that Obama can change it all; but Obama has proved that individually we can make that change, we even as an under-dog in any part of our lives or abilities have the ability to succeed and prove others wrong. We as individuals, working together, with this willingness to bring about change, to plan for a future which is far better than many of the situations we’re faced with in the present day - we can change that.
Just now, Obama has stepped out. Everyone is cheering, everyone is chanting, and the excitement even within myself intensifies even more so. I just hope that realism kicks in soon; otherwise in four/five years time, we’ll be witnessing this man stepping out of Office, we’ll see people reviewing his Presidency, as they have done with George Bush - and point out all those mishaps, cock-ups, and what he hasn’t achieved. I fear it’ll scar the ability for someone else like Obama to stand for President, and that is what I don’t want to happen.
So let’s be realistic. He’s human, he’s man, yes, and he’s black… But he cannot change the wrongs of America and of the World. He’s one person in a world of nearly seven billion… Surely if anything it is more up to us to do something, other than putting this great burden onto the shoulders of one man. We collectively have more power and ability to bring about change, but only if we act on it.
Samantha.
(http://www.thesamantha.co.nr)
(A later addition: I’ve added a gallery of photo’s I took whilst watching the inauguration ceremony. I think it’s worth it, it’s not every day you witness something this auspicious!)
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