Back Road to the White House

Posted on June 4, 2008 by Dawan
Filed Under politics |

Throughout history, Empires and Dynasties have fallen when the desire for power and control at all levels of society becomes uncontrollable. People become ignorant, arrogant, insensitive to the world around them and basically uncivilized in their thinking and behavior. Corrupt practices within the leadership, covertly takes precedence over establishing moral fiber, justice and basic human rights, manifesting “dog eat dog,” “get over any way you can” attitudes amongst the people. Today’s America, dubbed as the world’s sole “Super Power,” boldly promotes her idea of democracy in theory, but her practice obviously displays the aforementioned signs of a nation falling at an accelerated pace. So much damage has been done trying to maintain this “Super Power” image, that it will take several conscious government administrations to get this unconscious America on the right track. In political debates, legitimate issues such as moral responsibility, education, social justice, health care, economy and the environment are used strictly as platforms for election, yet the candidates usually appear clueless as to how they will really deal with these issues. In addition, the media’s pre-occupation with seeking out and exposing the skeletons (and there are many) in the closets of candidates has become a prime source of entertainment, which completely overshadows the issues. In view of the current trends in American politics, the upcoming Presidential Elections will be a “crap shoot” any way you look at it.

When it comes to practical plans for implementing legislation that is supposed to address and meet the challenges of real human service issues, most Americans are not able to distinguish fundamental differences between Republicans and Democrats, because in reality, human services are not a priority in today’s political arena. Therefore, the media’s emphasis on launching or responding to personal attacks during campaign debates simply distracts people from focusing on the real issues. To engage in this sort of debauchery works in favor of candidates who try and cover-up their weak platforms by creating confusion and making mockery of the real issues to boosts media ratings. This age old psychological trickery is designed to promote arrogance and ignite the popular WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) mentality existing amongst many Americans who believe they are superior, and like to give off the impression that they welcome a good fight. Unfortunately, this sort of blind patriotism is usually supported by people of lower economic and social status, who are being manipulated and are unable to see that regardless of the outcome, they are always on the losing end when it comes to collecting the so-called booty, winnings, prizes or benefits.

When you consider the evolution of world views stemming from the experiences of an increasingly diverse population, which is impacted by today’s domestic and global events, awareness supersedes rhetoric. In other words, “talk is cheap,” but change is inevitable. We can recognize, appreciate and learn from the true leaders of the past, but we also must acknowledge that we are in a different era and a different America. From what we have witnessed thus far in the campaign debates of both parties, some candidates are boasting about their experience in government and their ability to lead America into a brighter future, just as G.W. Bush did before he was put into office. Like G.W. Bush, their experience also ties them to governmental decisions leading to the lies and deception responsible for America’s current domestic and global situations. Candidates of both parties are all talking about change, but the ones promoting their leadership capabilities and administrative experience have adopted and endorsed the existing bureaucratic policies, procedures and unethical practices, which limits their ability to fully comprehend the current needs of a broad cross section of America’s diverse population. Their dedication to the corporate model and lack of “hands on” and “grassroots” experience causes their visions of change to be somewhat unrealistic for the majority of conscious Americans. As a result, when we look past race, gender, religion, personality worship and all the other distractions, which are designed to turn focus away from the real issues, the idea of putting an outsider in the “White House” is a gamble that most people seem willing to take at this point. Who knows, instead of the usual “snake eyes,” we might get lucky and actually elect a President who is sincere, passionate and dedicated to resolving real issues!

It was gracious of Senator Obama to make a conscious effort to maintain composure and integrity while campaigning to become the democratic nominee for the presidency of the United States of America. Now that he is the Democratic Nominee, the attacks that he endured during the primaries will certainly intensify. This is cause for alarm because even though Senator Obama won the nomination, he was forced to jump through hoops that briefly steered his campaign away from the issues. In fact, he and his camp believed it was absolutely necessary to put the issues on hold and retaliate or respond to the pressure of media hype and instigations, drawing more attention to the subjects of race and religion. Although a general concensus of the public seemed to approve of the way Senator Obama handled attacks, he ultimately decided to leave his church of twenty years, which depending on perceptions sends mixed messages to supporters. While succumbing to this kind of divide and conquer tactic can be viewed as an opportunity to overcome adversity, it is also viewed as a victory for those who are not willing to accept change. Consequently, many die-hard Republicans and conservative Democrats continue to demonstrate that they will stop at nothing to keep the pressure on. We can only hope that as Senator Obama gets closer to the Oval Office, he isn’t forced to distance himself from his “grassroots” constituency all together. Today’s politicians and their media allies (the Bush Administration is a prime example) are always looking for an angle, an edge, a psychological steroid, to maintain the upper hand, keep the money rolling in and simutaneously improve ratings. To them, it’s all about control, no matter how unethical the idea may be, their modus operandi is to just do it, make sure it’s profitable, keeps the masses entertained and cover it up!

As we head towards the presidential election in November, we can expect more of the same corruption, underhanded politics and manipulative hullabaloo from descendants of the same handful of power mongers who have been in control throughout several decades of ineffective administrations. It is obvious that the honorable traits in human character are no longer a priority or appealing to people in our regressive barbarian society. The ironic thing is many un-informed Americans are so caught up in the hype, that they refuse to accept the reality that the “America they once knew is no more.” They are in denial, gullible and partial to anything resembling old patriotic themes. It makes no difference to them if policies and practices are unjust or how foolish they look and sound, they just know that the House has always been “White” and they have a deep fear of change!

Dawan Muhammad AbduMuqaddim

Co-Chair SBIA Media Committee

Cross Cultural Consultant AMICC