- Two White Americas
Anyone who lives in America and does not agree that even in the 21st century that there are many “Americas” must live in a cave somewhere in the Ozark Mountains. America is one nation of course. But because of its huge population (300+ million) and its unprecedented mixture of virtually all nationalities and most ethnicities, many people say (accurately) that there are many Americas. For example there is middle class America, impoverished America, rich America, and super wealthy America. My country has also been classified by generations: baby-boomers, baby-busters, generation “X”, etc. Then there are the Americas classified by race/ethnicity: White America, Black America, Hispanic America, etc. I generally believe that, with regards to the topic of present analyses, there are mainly two White Americas: those that wish to keep certain racial viewpoints and practices the norm and those who wish for an America where race is not the significant factor or pretext to judgment that it once was—in other words, a colorblind America. The honorable Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once stated that he looked for or “dreamed” for the day that people would not be judged by their racial exterior by the content of their character. This is the America that the latter mentioned Whites—the ones who put the current president in office—that I am talking about. No, before any of you unsheathe your accusatory fingers, let me state this. I AM NOT saying that all White people who did not vote for President Barack Obama, did so because of race--not at all! Many simply voted out of a loyalty to their political attitudes and party. Nonetheless, just as there were many Black voters who (wrongly) voted for him just because he is Black, there were also many White voters who voted for McCain because Mr. Obama is not White. I believe that during these elections there was more of a spirit of voting “against” rather than voting “for.” I also believe that a large number of the White voters who put the current president in office looked at him and instead of asking why, just said, “Why not?” To them, yes, it was truly special to be alive and take part in an election that placed the first Non-White male in the White House. Yet, at the same time, they did not allow the color of his skin to be a determining factor concerning their particular votes. They realized that America must get past race in many regards and the fact that he is Black was purely coincidental. I am sure that Mr. Obama came across as a person that they could place faith in. They were tired of the Bush/Clinton/Bush (possibly Clinton again) democratic monarchy and wanted a fresh, young, articulate face to represent them. The season was ripe for change. And this young, handsome, Black guy with the Arabic name was just the ticket to “change.” I believe the interest in him would have been the same had his ethnicity bestowed upon him the name of Barack Lee Kim, Barack Eduardo Sanchez, Barack Sanjay Patell, or even Barack Boris Kalashnikov. This particular element of White America shed their parent’s racial hang-ups—not racist hang-ups—but racial hang-ups. There is a difference.
There is a stark difference between “racial” and “racist.” Their parents grew up in not only a racist America, but a racial America. This is an America that seemed to be consumed and mesmerized by anything that could be made into something racial. I feel that in order for things to move away from being racist, they have to evolve through a period of being racial. When things stop being racial, then we will have finally arrived into a truly colorblind society. Their parents had to deal with the racial (not racist) dynamics of society like Blacks who broke the color barrier in certain industries, the first Black to accomplish this or that, Black Universities, Black Entertainment Television, Black Hair Care products (which are now comically termed “ethnic”), Black music, Black gospel, Black churches, Ebonics, etc. We are just now breaking away from such terms. But again, their parents, and the other part of White America still see such things as the norm and wish to keep it that way. I am not calling these people racist or even prejudice necessarily—but they are far from colorblind and may never achieve that status. These are the White people who don’t feel comfortable in a room full of Black people, who clutch their purses or walk on the other side of the street when they see a group of Blacks. They are the ones who feel the need to mention to you that a particular person is/was Black when telling you a story regardless of its relevance. They see no problem with the most segregated hour in America (Sunday morning). These are the White pastors who have separate “ministries” and buildings for Black parishioners on the “other side of town”—no, I am not making this up. These are the Whites (and Blacks also) that still have a problem with interracial relationships and marriage. Again, they are not necessarily racist, just racial. These are the Whites who have no problem going to a church where the congregation is racially diverse—as long as the pastor is White. These are even the people who have no issue with befriending and socializing with Blacks—but cannot deal with working for or otherwise having to answer to a Black authority figure. In other words, they have no problem with Black people as long as they are no more than equal to them and/or they stay in their places—geographically and socially. OK, before you say it—I know, I know, there are plenty of Black people stuck in this mental rut too. But I will get to them in another article—be patient.
So, this existence of two White Americas has brought one group’s racial attitudes to the forefront. They just cannot deal with or feel completely comfortable with a Black man as President of the U.S. Because they still see the world and especially “their” country through racial lenses. A Black man standing in front of the infamous lectern emblazoned with the U.S. presidential seal is a symbol to them that their way of thinking and seeing the world is quickly coming to an end. It challenges their racial notions and actually makes whatever scraps of racism within in them surface. They do not want to believe for one minute that they may still be hanging on to some racist attitudes. Nonetheless, dealing with their innate uneasiness and unexplainable frustration stemming from having a Black president forces them to either admit the existence of some vestiges of racial prejudice within or deny it by saying their dislike for the president is because of political differences. Their dishonesty gives rise to many excuses why this current president is so bad. They can often be downright obsessed with removing him. There have actually been a number of these types of White people who seriously suggest that President Obama should be impeached. Seriously? Why? I have no idea, other than they can only regain some sort of comfort in the fact that if he was in removed, they would no longer have to look in the mirror and be shown the ugliness of the racist residue still residing within their characters. So, they spend so much time nitpicking and faultfinding the president. This serves two purposes; it allows them to try and cover the real reason why they can’t stand him and it helps them to deceive their own selves into thinking that their dislike is based solely in political reasons. Part of this manifestation is seen in the enormous amount of negative books that have been written about Barack Obama so far.
- The books
I must admit, what initially inspired me to write this particular piece was something I found in a bookstore when on a short visit to the U.S. I was wandering through the section devoted to politics and came across a ton of books all with the intention to discredit the president. Now, presidents are going to have to deal with authors who write scathing unauthorized biographies, people who write books that are highly critical of their policies and decision making, and even books that are filled with vitriolic and malicious personal attacks. It comes with the job. I can remember the same thing happening to President Bill Clinton, especially around the time he was involved with the whole Monica Lewinsky controversy. Also, how many books have been written about President Bush’s wartime and economic decisions—not to mention the books devoted to printing grammatically incorrect quotes of his or other attempts to paint him as an idiot? It’s normal. But what caught my attention was the sheer amount of Anti-Obama titles on the shelf. He was only president for about two years at the time and I saw more books written against him than I ever saw of the aforementioned presidents. I had to ask why. Then upon further inspection, I found that the books ranged in subject matter to the point where they were contradictory. In other words you had some that presented him as a pro-government, anti-business socialist while others suggested that he was Wall Street’s best friend and only talked tough on cracking down on the lack of ethical practices in the private sector but was really beholden to them. Both cannot be true. Yet, these titles and more were all lined up ready for someone to buy them and buy into the Anti-Obama ideas within. Why were there so many books written like this. What was it about him that amassed this galvanization of dislike and hatred to the point where all these people felt the need to publish it? When you look at the differences between Obama and the other presidents, there is only one glaring difference between them other than his name—his race. But what author in his right mind is going to write an Anti-Obama book centered on the fact that he can’t stand him because he’s Black? So, they have to settle for the next best thing; exaggerate and even fabricate things about him to stir up dissent and thus cover the real source of the ill will. I think I will let the book titles and a small synopsis of each do the talking and I’ll let you draw your own conclusions. I went back home and got on my computer and went to amazon.com to see if their website reflected the amount of Anti-Obama books in comparison to books written against past presidents… same results. Here are just a few of them:
- The Roots Of Obama’s Rage
· The Case Against Barack Obama: The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media's Favorite Candidate
Do I really need to tell you what is printed on these pages? Thought not… next:- Crimes Against Liberty: An Indictment of President Barack Obama
According to the synopsis of this book the author proves that, “As Americans, liberty is an inalienable right that is granted to us by God, protected by the Constitution, and upheld by our government. Yet, Barack Obama doesn’t seem to share that view. To him, liberty is a threat to the government’s power and something to be squashed by any means possible… Limbaugh issues a damning indictment of President Barack Obama for encroaching upon and stripping us of our individual and sovereign rights… Obama is guilty of crimes against liberty.” It gets even more ridiculous. Read on…
- The Manchurian President: Barack Obama's Ties to Communists, Socialists and Other Anti-American Extremists
This book plays off the title of the movie, The Manchurian Candidate, which suggests that the presidency of the U.S. is secretly orchestrated by unknown powers. True or not, this book wants you to believe that President Obama was carefully put in the White House to carry out a special Anti- American agenda created by a secret elite society… ooohhhhh. Honestly, wouldn’t this have made a better sci-fi film than political book?
- The Mendacity of Hope: Barack Obama and the Betrayal of American Liberalism
Unlike most titles that seek to display the president as a staunch left-wing liberal bent on taking America down the road to Socialism, this author proposes the idea that Barack Obama is NOT liberal enough. He states that the people of America voted for a more socialistic type of government and got a president who is pretty much like the one before him. He accuses the president of betraying those on the left with his center to right policies and points of view.
- Barack Obama & Larry Sinclair: Cocaine, Sex, Lies & Murder?
This book by far has got to be one of the most outlandish things ever put into print. The author, Larry Sinclair, alleges, “… that on November 6 & 7, 1999 Sinclair claims that he engaged in homosexual acts with then-Illinois Senator Barack Obama, who during these trysts not only procured cocaine for the author, but also smoked crack cocaine while being fellated. Although relatively unknown outside his home state at the time, Obama hit the national stage in 2004 by delivering a keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention. Sinclair realized only then that he'd engaged in sex with an up-and-coming political superstar. Even more incriminating, Sinclair writes about his concerns that Obama and Reverend Jeremiah Wright were involved in the murder of Obama's former lover, choirmaster Donald Young.” Yes, you just read that. This sounds so crazy that one must wonder who can actually make these things up. I could not write a synopsis on this. I have to cut and paste the quote. I’m sure you can see why.
- Radical-in-Chief: Barack Obama and the Untold Story of American Socialism
Yes, another book intended to scare America into thinking that our president is some closet Communist intended on making America into Soviet era Russian (yawn).
- Bought and Paid For: The Unholy Alliance Between Barack Obama and Wall Street
This particular book is a comical departure from the normal attempt at presenting the president as some anti-industry/business Capitalist. Instead it claims that the president “… has climbed into bed with Wall Street CEOs, giving them what they want so they will support his liberal, big-government agenda. As a result, the big banks responsible for the credit crisis get rescued, while small businesses and ordinary Americans get crushed by higher taxes and irresponsible spending.” I wish these guys would make up their mind about him.
- How Barack Obama is Endangering our National Sovereignty
Do I really need to explain the author’s intention in this book?
- How Barack Obama is Bankrupting the U.S. Economy
Yes, years of overspending, the cost of two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, huge tax cuts for rich people, plus the billions of dollars spent each year on foreign aid have nothing to do with the downfall of the American economy. It’s all Barack Obama’s fault. These guys stoop to levels that are amazing. He is not bankrupting America. He inherited a bankrupt America.
- Barack Obama's Plan to Socialize America and Destroy Capitalism
Yes, wouldn’t you guess; another book about how Barack Obama plans on destroying American Capitalism (as if he could).
- Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and Cronies
The title of this book sounds more like it’s about a Middle Eastern or African president.
- Gangster Government: Barack Obama and the New Washington Thugocracy
- The Audacity of Deceit: Barack Obama's War on American Values
- The Obama Nation
What a bunch of morons. But you have to like the word play here; Abomination… Obama Nation. Wow!
- The Blueprint: Obama's Plan to Subvert the Constitution and Build an Imperial Presidency
Really? Do I have to give you an idea of what kind of worthless, pointless, rhetoric is upon the pages of this book?
- Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation
As if zombie films weren’t enough? Now we have books like this?
Look, I understand that is was hard to get through that section. But I had to show you how incessant the dislike and hatred for President Obama truly is. These are just a few of the books devoted to pouring negativity onto him. Just think, we are only halfway through his first term. No other president in the history of the U.S. (maybe Nixon, but I doubt it) has garnered this much resentment. Yet, on the other hand, I don’t believe any other president has achieved Rock Star status like this guy either. It seems like when it comes to this man, you either love him or hate him. I see very few people like myself who are basically neutral towards him. The basic item of discussion in this article is the concept of racism and how it relates to some White American’s feelings towards the president. I believe that most White Americans don’t really care about his color. After all, it was most White Americans that put him in office. The Black vote was, for a number of reasons, inconsequential (for a better analysis of this read my very first blog discussing Obama). I believe that most White Americans are not racists and are genuinely good and decent people that care nothing about a person’s skin color. I have some in my family. Even so, there are still enough White Americans that have racial and racist views that need to be buried with the rest of humanity that lived in the Stone Age. And that’s not only for White Americans, that’s for all Americans and all people of the human race worldwide.
3. America Still Trumps Europe
I know that I get a lot of love from Europe. Yes, a great deal of the readers of this blog are from there. I was actually born there and have visited a few times. But just as I criticize my nation and others, I’ve got to give Europe her due too. Please don’t take it personal. Most of my criticisms on a national level hurled toward governments or portions of society that need a reality check (not necessarily a “Ramon’s Reality”—ok, ok, ok). I mean, when do you think you will see a Black president/prime minister in one of the “progressive” European countries? Pretty much never. They still have a hard time placing Blacks on soccer teams as goal-keepers. Hmmm… Sure you will see a few token members of parliament that are Black. But with all the fuss about how progressive and colorblind Europe is, you would think that that way of thinking would translate into a more diverse group of national leaders. Not so. The Europeans can point the fingers at us as Americans and talk about how racist and backwards we are socially, but their racial hypocrisy far outweighs ours. They helped create the tragic societal and financial messes in Africa through the completely racial and economically motivated colonialism of Africa. They initiated the Atlantic slave trade, the subjugation of the Black natives through direct and indirect rule, the arming of political and ethnic groups for political gain and to help the Black Africans destroy themselves, the inaction or half-hearted action of the U.N. in times of crisis, the enriching and political support of the most merciless and brutal dictators to walk the continent, the intentional underdevelopment of the continent, turned many a blind eye to mass rape, pillaging, kidnapping, and murder of an intra-African nature, offered their banking services for corrupt dictators and other government officials to safely hide their stolen money, and still to this day control huge amounts of financial interests there to include agriculture, mining, tourism industries, etc. Yet, in spite of all of this, America as a country, donates more material, time, human resources, and money to this continent to help combat the problems that Europe and European colonialism (as well as today’s Pseudo-colonialism) has caused and still causes. So, why did I add this little tidbit to the end of my writing—and in the process maybe lost some European followers? It‘s because we all play a part in this silly ancient social cancer of the past—racism. We all (not just the U.S.) have to play our parts to identify and combat this most destructive of social forces. Amen.
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