[img]583|left|Eric L. Wattree||no_popup[/img]I haven’t totally given up on President Obama . . . yet. But I thought I’d write this just to ensure that there’s no need for speculation about how many members of his more politically sophisticated base views the current political landscape.
I’m an Obama supporter, but I’m not an Obama cheerleader. While I agree that President Obama has done more for this country in the short time he’s been in office than any President since Franklin Roosevelt, Presidents not only are assessed by what they do, but also what they fail to do. So in spite of the fact that he’s saved America from a second Great Depression, his success in that area pales in comparison to what he’s failing to do — aggressively confronting America’s most insidious domestic enemy, the most serious threat to our democracy since the Civil War, the current GOP.
President Obama made his first mistake when he said, “We should look forward, not back,” with regard to the Bush/Cheney war crimes in Iraq. The attorney general is supposed to be independent to decide what course to take in such matters. Obama was supposed to keep his mouth shut and let his attorney general decide whether Bush and Cheney’s “alleged” war crimes warranted prosecution. By failing to do so, Obama effectively established, and elevated Bush and Cheney to a class of people who are above the law, not good in a democracy. It was such a class in the Jim Crow South that allowed Black people to be lynched with impunity.
Which Way Is It?
In spite of that, Obama apologists argue that the President is only one man who can’t do everything. That’s an invalid argument. The President sets his own agenda as to what he considers important to this country. He has the largest staff of lawyers and experts in the Western world. Why can’t he do everything? That’s his job. Even Obama said the President has to be able to do many things at one time.
Still, failing to aggressively confront the Republican Party constitutes neglecting the biggest threat to America in generations. The GOP is a bigger threat to the American way of life than Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda only can destroy buildings. The GOP is on a single-minded mission to destroy the United States Constitution. In taking the oath of office, the President swore to protect that precious document.
Those of us who are merely supporters of the President understand that the primary reason this country is in its current mess is because the American people have been brainwashed into supporting politicians instead of principles. That’s why our system can be so easily controlled by money. Money is being used to brainwash us into loving politicians over principles. It’s the oldest game. We are being pimped. Instead of selling our bodies, we’re selling our souls – and the souls of our children.
When we support politicians over principles we tend to ignore, when they go off-course, which allows politicians to control us. If we supported principles over politicians, politicians would be forced to adhere to the mandate that got them elected.
We Look Alike
The primary quality that should set progressives apart from others is an affinity for humanity, independence of thought, and a fierce determination to remain a seeker of truth. What has happened? Many contemporary “progressives” tend to possess the same rigidity of thought, and mean-spirited, knee-jerk adherence to ideology that the progressive movement was created to combat. The response that many of these people bring to even the slightest divergence from their rigid ideological beliefs is radical reactionism.
That concerns me because while conservatives and so-called progressives remain divergent in their views toward governance, in terms of intellectual disposition they’ve become different sides of the same coin. I’ve often heard it stated that the regimented intolerance of reactionary conservatism is reminiscent of Nazi Germany. If true, it must be acknowledged that the intolerant regimentation of many contemporary radical “progressives” represents the USSR.
Modern “progressives” have allowed themselves to become infected with the same intellectual rigidity that we previously associated with the radical conservative mindset. They could be called latter-day conservatives. They have slightly updated values, but their rigidity and rabid defense of their ideology will surely morph into the closed-minded conservatism of tomorrow.
Meanwhile, radical conservatives are at work taking America apart, both brick and mortar. Thus, while the patient is lying on the operating table dying, the surgeons are engaged in a feud over what brand scalpel to use. While we should be saying “I love America,” we’re being distracted by cheerleaders chanting, “I love Obama.”
I like Obama, too, but not nearly as much as I love America. Thus, a politician should only be supported as long as he adheres to his mandate, no matter how warm his smile, or how nice a guy he is. If we’re looking for love, we should go out and find a lover because if we want to maintain the kind of democracy to which we have become accustomed, when it comes to politics, there’s no room for blind love affairs.
Eric L. Wattree is a writer, poet and musician, born in Los Angeles. A columnist for the Los Angeles Sentinel, the Black Star News, a staff writer for Veterans Today, he is a contributing writer to Your Black World, the Huffington Post, ePluribus Media and other online sites and publications. He also is the author of “A Message From the Hood.”
Mr. Wattree may be contacted at wattree.blogspot.com or Ewattree@Gmail.com
Religious bigotry: It’s not that I hate everyone who doesn’t look, think, and act like me – it’s just that God does.
