Two things have come to my attention that are particularly disturbing, and serve as a reminder about the realities of the world, and in particular, the North American slice where conservatives and liberals enjoy being at odds with one another.
First, why is there such a debate about Obama speaking with youth? We elected him partially because he inspires people. We know that our educational system needs work, and that our young people could use a little motivation. So what’s the fuss? Why are so many people trying to politicize this moment. My only critique is that, given the wars that have gotten so little recent media attention due to the health care discussions, Obama could be seen as spreading himself too thin – a critique that others have made in the past at various points during this still very short time in office. There may be a point there, but we also must face the reality that in our multi-tasking world, our President should be able to address more than one thing at a time. I applaud Obama for wanting to do this. He could easily not care, and stay invisible to school children while he pushes forward on health care. But he didn’t do that. He’s trying to offer an opportunity for school children to hear directly from him – an experience that my mother reminded me in the past would be looked at as an honor, and not something to be debated by parents and schools. In some countries, leaders aren’t chosen, and when they speak, you listen. We don’t live in a country like that. No one is forcing anyone to watch Obama’s message, but yet so many people are treating this as if he’s going to tell all the kiddies that the world is flat and that they must send their lunch money in to pay for a White House add-on. I’m thinking that his message may be something more like, “if you all work hard, do your homework, stay focused, and help make your school communities strong, you’ll be doing your part.” And maybe at the end of the day it is all lip service, and the government’s ensuing educational initiatives prove to be weak. But what if there are a couple thousand kids around the country who take the message to heart, and point to it as a defining moment in their lives? That seems to be the point that quite frankly the haters are completely missing.
The second issue – Van Jones stepping down as Obama’s Green Advisor, amidst controversial past statements. Guess Black men with harsh past critiques of the government and/or Americana culture can’t be on the U.S. payroll. Meanwhile, for decades, we let racist politicians and other public officials stay on the job while they verbally and physically beat Blacks down, occasionally while on the clock.
This is why I say that politics is the chess game that no one wins. People spend too much time trying to gain leverage, fighting back and forth over irrational and inconsequential views, rather than getting things done. The microscope is that much more intense in the Obama administration. So this is what the post-racial moment looks like, huh?
