[img]583|left|||no_popup[/img]I am not here to defend President Obama.
I don’t agree with everything he does, or fails to do. But there are those in the black community who need to come to terms with the fact that some things even he cannot do.
Signing a bill abolishing ignorance is at the top. That is what it would take to accomplish some objectives Mr. Obama’s black critics are trying to force upon him. That is what lets me know much of the ranting by so-called black intellectuals is disingenuous at best, blatant intra-racial bigotry at worst.
The President can’t just wave a magic wand and instantly make everyone upwardly mobile. It doesn’t work that way. There’s an educational process that goes along with upward mobility, whether the person is black or white. While many in the black community have the skills to hit the ground running, others need to be trained, motivated and refocused to maintain a job that pays wages high enough to lift them out of poverty.
If these educators, intellectuals and pundits were serious about their concern for the poor, instead of holding televised seminars and booksignings, they would be in the community with their sleeves up, helping upgrade the skill sets of those who need it.
That is what Barack Obama did. As the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, when Obama graduated from law school he could have gone to work as a clerk for the Supreme Court, or pursued wealth by going into any of the top law firms in the country. He could have tried to make a name for himself by running all over the country selling books, doing lectures, and trying to sound profound. He didn't. Instead, quietly he went back into the community to assist people to get their heaters fixed. That is how to show you care. Words are meaningless. Deeds count.
For that reason, and because he is a lone black man struggling to carve a new chapter in our history, I give him the benefit of the doubt over lesser men who criticize him. He is not perfect. Neither am I. Neither were Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln.
Why does a black man have to be perfect to be accepted as a man worthy of respect?
Many of the same black “intellectuals” who can barely contain themselves today, just sat back and allowed Ronald Reagan, both Bushes and the GOP in general to cut our throats for the past 30 years with nothing more than a whimper.
(To be continued)
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
