August
6, 2009 - Issue 336 - Summer Hiatus Issue #1 of 4 Best of BC
Those who ignore reality and the lessons of history
do so at their own peril. Ignoring reality, whether in a state
of euphoria or not, is nonetheless a sure recipe for disaster.
It is both sad and simultaneously horribly
fascinating to observe so many euphorically pinning their hopes
and dreams on Barack Obama, a chameleon who speaks liberally
of “change” but who is, himself, beholden to the very same blood-sucking
corporate vampires (including Lockheed and others) who are ravaging
the peoples of America, and the entire planet. It seems we have
moved euphemistically from Dracula to a corporately repackaged
Blackula in the person of Barack Obama. In the very
name of “change,” Obama is moving America euphorically backwards.
All of
America, but most especially we Black, Brown, and Red peoples,
need to pay heed to the unfolding debacle known as the “Obama
phenomenon.” This so-called “phenomenon” is propelled by blind
euphoria, while being steeped in double-speak and disinformation.
The danger in this is self-evident.
Never
mind that Barack Obama is a stalwart supporter of apartheid
/ corporate Zionism and is beholden to the Zionist corporate
lobby in the US, which wags the people of America as a whole
to the tune of billions upon billions of dollars from the coffers
of this nation. It should be noted that Barack Obama made it
quite clear in The Jerusalem Post newspaper (Israel)
of January 29, 2008, that the Palestinian people whose lands
are, and have long been, illegally and militarily occupied by
Israel, “do not have the right of return.” Similar to the wanton
genocide that America carried out against the indigenous, so-called
“Indian” peoples on this North American continent under the
cover of Manifest Destiny, so it is that the Zionists
are simultaneously carrying out de facto apartheid and
genocide against the Palestinian people. Black, Red, and Brown
peoples should pay close attention to this horrible reality,
which is supported by Barack Obama, and no amount of Obama double-speak
can obfuscate this outrage. Black Americans must realize unequivocally
that every Israeli or Jewish person is not necessarily
a Zionist, just as every German was not necessarily a
Nazi (Adolph Hitler in fact also murdered thousands of non-Jewish
Germans who opposed him). However, make no mistake about this:
Nazism, Zionism, and apartheid are inextricably tied together.
Moreover, it should be clearly understood that Semitic
peoples include both Arab and Jewish peoples, including
Palestinians. Thus, the constant tactic of depicting any who
criticize the actions of Zionists as being “anti-Semitic,” is
inaccurate, diversionary, and ridiculous. Barack Obama is deeply
beholden to apartheid / corporate Zionism at the expense of
the Palestinian people and peace with justice throughout the
so-called Middle East.
Never mind that Barack Obama, contrary to corporate
myth, was never in reality a so-called grassroots, political,
“community activist,” but was in fact a financially paid, funded,
and comfortable opportunist who did not lay his life on the
line in any serious manner for disenfranchised people. Moreover,
his alleged “volunteer” work in Chicago was anything but
the stuff of legend in serving the people, though one would
never learn this from his current supporters in the corporate
media. Indeed, Barack Obama is himself the beneficiary
of the many serious and committed women and men grassroots,
political, community activists who went before him, and who
often paid for their activism by tortuous jail/prison
time and/or death. Serious community activism is no joke
and will never be hailed or supported by corporations
or the corporate media.
Never mind that Barack Obama has indicated both
verbally and in writing that he favors “unilateral” US military
actions against other nations, which is both dangerously absurd
and in direct contravention and flagrant violation of international
law. Notwithstanding the constant double-speak of Barack
Obama, his admiration for Ronald Reagan (who despised US working
men and women and who unilaterally militarily invaded the
tiny Black nation of Grenada), and his warm relationship
with William Daley of the infamous and racist Daley political
machine in Chicago, should, at bare minimum, give people of
good will (of all colors) serious pause for thought.
Nevertheless,
and despite all of the foregoing, there are those who insist,
regarding Barack Obama: “At least he’s black!” Is he? What is
Blackness and what does it really mean in America? And
how is being bamboozled, pimped, and disenfranchised by a black
person any better than being emaciated by a person of any other
color? Think about it as if your very life depends on it, because,
ultimately, it may.
The January 31, 2008, Daily Sun of Nigeria,
in an article entitled, "Barack Obama May Win, But He’s
No African American," poignantly stated, in relevant part:
“There are several fundamental issues that must be clarified
to understand the importance of Obama’s candidacy. First of
all, strictly speaking Barack Obama is not an African-American
- but an African who is American. He’s not a descendant
of the enslaved Africans who built America without reward
or respect for their contributions… But there is a side
to his character that well-illustrates the differences between
himself and the average ‘Black American.’ For instance, when
speaking of his heritage he points proudly to his living relatives
[in Kenya]… He doesn’t have the burden or challenge of
discussing how his ancestors overcame prejudice within
the very society he’s striving to rule. He doesn’t have
to refer to the disenfranchisement and dehumanization of
his ancestors when he speaks of the legacy that he represents…”
Nor does he have or relate to the collective suffering and ongoing
struggle of a physically and emotionally brutalized Black America.
Many Black Americans and our Brown and Red sisters
and brothers will, I fear, come to be deeply disappointed in
Barack Obama, once he demonstrates who he really is. There will
be no peace or justice under an Obama Presidency, should such
come to pass. Even the majority of white Americans, with the
exception of the corporate liberals and conservatives,
may yet come to realize that Obama’s interests are corporate
interests; they are not the needs and interests of everyday
people, who represent the overwhelming majority of this nation
and the world.
It must be reiterated that the Democrat and
Republican Parties have consistently sold out Black, Red, Brown,
Yellow, and White peoples in America. There is no doubt that
the blind euphoria being experienced by those who are presently
not critically thinking - is also being experienced by the elite
of the US corporate/military/media apparatus - except that their
euphoria is not blind. It is callous, calculating, and cold-blooded.
We need to be about the business of thinking
and acting outside the box and building political parties that
are outside the box, parties that serve the economic, social,
and political interests of the masses of people. This is precisely
why the candidacy of former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney
for President and the Power To The People Coalition is of such
enormous importance for the present and for the future.
This coalition is all about collectively laying the foundation
for systemic change - which is the only way that we can enjoy
real change.
Blind euphoria notwithstanding, those who ignore
reality and the lessons of history, do so at their own peril.
Now, more than ever, is the time to be critical thinkers, not
blind followers.
BlackCommentator.com
Editorial Board
member, Larry Pinkney, is a veteran of the Black Panther Party,
the former Minister of Interior of the Republic of New Africa,
a former political prisoner and the only American to have
successfully self-authored his civil/political rights case
to the United Nations under the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights. For more about Larry Pinkney see
the book, Saying No to Power:
Autobiography of a 20th Century Activist and Thinker,
by William Mandel [Introduction by Howard Zinn]. (Click here to read excerpts from the book)
Click here to contact Mr. Pinkney.
If you send us an e-Mail
message we may publish all or part of it, unless you
tell us it is not for publication. You may also request
that we withhold your name.