Race Doesn't matter

     It does and it doesn't.
      It matters that a partly African-American man is being taken seriously as a candidate for president. I am not being facetious when I say it would be uplifting for the American public to elect someone for the content of his character. Mr. Obama's character seems at least as good as any president I've seen in action.

     I'm not sure how much it would really matter geopolitically, but it would seem advantageous if the US were represented on the world stage by someone with whom people in other nations could identify. It would surely entitle America to some claim of authentic moral high ground -- of real fidelity to our stated principles of fairness -- at a time when our international credibility is in a slough.

     I'm satisfied that Mr. Obama is comfortable with his own persona. He doesn't appear to be either hung up on his racial background or disregardful of its subtler meanings. Of course in a better world, where the old "one drop rule" didn't apply (the mentality that one drop of black blood makes someone "black"), Mr. Obama would would be justified in calling himself black or white. In any case, his own apparent comfort has allowed other Americans to feel comfortable with him, and about the better angels of our nature as a people.

      Lately, I have been reading Niall Ferguson's history of World War Two (War of the World). Though I have heard, seen, and read other versions of the story a zillion times, Ferguson freshly emphasizes the importance of the racialist ideas that motivated both the German Nazis and the Japanese in launching the war. These ideas appear  to be utterly insane in a fresh new way, and the cruelty and carnage that grew out of them was so exorbitant that it comes close to negating any claim the human race ever might have made previously, through twenty-five-hundred years of history, to a moral standing above the dogs and crocodiles. The behavior of the Nazis themselves was bad enough, but they somehow managed to inspire nearly every other European nation, or ethnic group, or pseudo ethnic group to behavior so grotesque that one truly wonders how these groups recovered their bearings later on in the 20th century. Their demoralization should have been complete. Instead of just Herman Goring committing suicide in his jail cell at Nuremberg in 1945, one concludes after reading Ferguson, all German survivors of the Third Reich should have just marched off a cliff somewhere. The Japanese treatment of the Chinese, Malays, and every other Asian sub-group wasn't any better.

     The world can't afford to repeat that kind of thing. But the world is heading into a stressful situation that could provoke another wave of worldwide conflict -- not to mention the kind of internal conflicts that induce ethnic cleansings and genocides within nations. So, from my point of view, the further America removes itself explicitly from a collective racialist mentality, the better off we would be. But there is a catch: if perhaps Mr. Obama wins the Democratic Party's nomination, and goes on to win the White House, and the nation enters the socioeconomic convulsions I call The Long Emergency, and Mr. Obama is overwhelmed by its overwhelming problems... would he be singled out for blame? Surely there will be a lot of finger-pointing and scapegoating. Would Barack Obama become a tragic figure? The answer may be that anyone who occupies that office during the next term could end up a tragic figure.

      Anyway, Hillary was back out on the stump yesterday, in the pulpit of a black Baptist church in Memphis, sounding as phony as the day is long, and it was gratifying to know that she had just been beaten. She sounded and looked discouraged, her voice lingering in that lower-register monotone that makes her come off like a regional director of the State Department of Motor Vehicles. Mr. Edwards, who I have supported and continue to support, could not shake the look of a whipped dog, too, after losing badly in his birth state. But he swore to continue on further through the primaries, and his pluck seemed genuine enough.

     The night before, when the returns in South Carolina were final, Mr. Obama made a speech before his supporters, who were chanting "race doesn't matter! race doesn't matter!" as if to convince themselves as much as the TV viewing audience. The higher truth might be that it would matter if it didn't matter. But it does in many ways.

     The winning candidate concluded his remarks that night by invoking the slogan "Yes we can!" It was stirring to hear, and of course it projected the simple message that his campaign would remain "positive," in the current popular therapeutic sense. But at some point, Mr. Obama will have to rise above the platitudes and generalities and answer some questions as to yes we can... do... what....? The candidates all yammer about "change," but I suspect they don't quite know how much change this nation is really in for.  

Comments

[Dave]

and therefore as a stranger give it welcome. there are more things in heaven and earth, horatio, than are dreampt of in your philosophy. or something like that.

[Dave]

NYC is a fucking fantastic man made contraption though. the hot looking woman ratio there has to be the highest in the world right now. oh my god.

[Dave]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_zone_(ecology)

now it's stuff like this that makes me think that the whole climate change thing is nothing but a red hearing. i mena really, there's nothing much we can do about that, climate change that is. but we can end industrial civilization and put a stop to this stuff.

[EEofDC]

The title of today's post should be "The Race Doesn't Matter." This is nothing more than a two-year orgy of spending to prop up the main stream media. Why I don't have nor watch TV... think of what could be done with the multi-millions being pumped into this "electoral" sewer.

For example: This just in from a friend of mine who was instrumental in getting our current biracial mayor elected and who recently left in frustration after a year after the same-old, same-old:

Thanks, EE...I am a little burned out on politics for the moment...and just between the three of us, I am working at an orphanage in Tanzania until early March. It is is hot, the income disparity is severe, filthy but not the worst of places I've travelled to...the people are kind, trustworthy and very patient with the things they must endure. I will have much more to say later no doubt when I get about the country a little more.

Please keep an ear out for other opportunites and I very much appreciate you thoughtfulness.

N

[Uncle Remus]

A better question would be what have any of the candidates done to inspire anything?

[Dave]

acctually, IC will kill itself, catabolic collapse and all that.

[Dave]

ignor them all, that's the only sane thing to do.

[asoka]

OK, here is the Obama laundry list you requested, although it has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with why he has more delegates and has received more votes than any other candidate:

**With the assistance of Senator Jones, Mr. Obama helped deliver what is said to have been the first significant campaign finance reform law in Illinois in 25 years.

**He brought law enforcement groups around to back legislation requiring that homicide interrogations be taped and helped bring about passage of the state's first racial-profiling law.

**He was a chief sponsor of a law enhancing tax credits for the working poor, played a central role in negotiations over welfare reform and successfully pushed for increasing child care subsidies.

**He had a 100 percent rating from the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council for his support of abortion rights, family planning services and health insurance coverage for female contraceptives.

**Obama regularly supported gun-control measures, including a ban on semiautomatic "assault weapons" and a limit on handgun purchases to one a month.

**Obama parted company with gun control advocates when he backed a measure to let retired police officers and military police carry concealed weapons.

Obama occasionally supported higher taxes, joining other Democrats in pushing to raise more than 300 taxes and fees on businesses in 2004 to help solve a budget deficit.

That's one reason Illinois business groups gave Obama a low rating, while labor groups praised him. But even Obama's allies say he refused to become a rubber stamp for their legislation.

During his last two years, Democrats controlled the chamber and he was the go-to guy on a variety of issues.

**He helped pass legislation overhauling Illinois' troubled capital punishment system and was a key figure in requiring a massive statewide study of traffic stops to look for signs of racial profiling. Although police groups opposed the legislation, they say Obama listened to their concerns and accepted some of their suggestions to improve the bill.

**Even when he was in the political minority, Obama sometimes played a critical role. He helped write one of the rare ethics laws in a state known for government corruption and worked on welfare reform with Republicans.

**He sponsored legislation to bar job and housing discrimination against gays, and he helped create a state version of the earned income tax credit for the poor. Obama also led efforts to reject federal rules that would have put workers' overtime checks in jeopardy.

**Voted to end $300 million worth of tax breaks for businesses. (2004)

**Voted for having Illinois endorse embryonic stem cell research. (2004)

**Voted against restrictions on public funding of abortion. (2000)

**Successfully co-sponsored a prescription drug discount buying club program for seniors and the disabled. (2003)

**Unsuccessfully co-sponsored ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation. The measure became law after Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate. (2003)

**Successfully co-sponsored major ethics reform called the Gift Ban Act. (1998)

------

There you go... a partial laundry list you can attack.

But, as I say, it has absolutely nothing to do with why he is winning elections and getting delegates. It is not about doing... it is about being.

There is nothing an individual doer can do. Yet... Things will be done, and not by Obama. He is just the catalytic inspiration for changes to come that will effectively deal with the Long Emergency.

[FARfetched]

Thanks, Asoka.

[EEofDC]

The title of today's post should be "The Race Doesn't Matter." This is nothing more than a two-year orgy of spending to prop up the main stream media. Why I don't have nor watch TV... think of what could be done with the multi-millions being pumped into this "electoral" sewer.

For example: This just in from a friend of mine who was instrumental in getting our current biracial mayor elected and who recently left in frustration after a year after the same-old, same-old:

Thanks, EE...I am a little burned out on politics for the moment...and just between the three of us, I am working at an orphanage in Tanzania until early March. It is is hot, the income disparity is severe, filthy but not the worst of places I've travelled to...the people are kind, trustworthy and very patient with the things they must endure. I will have much more to say later no doubt when I get about the country a little more.

Please keep an ear out for other opportunites and I very much appreciate you thoughtfulness.

N

[Nudge]

Just for the record, I totally agree with what JHK said about how the next president, no matter who it is or what party s/he is from, will be strictly a one-term president -- that is, unless s/he manages to use those wonderful seizure-of-powers mechanisms established by Bush/Cheney. It's not merely that the unfortunate person is going to have a whole bagful of hot potatoes landing in his or her lap ~ it's going to be several dump truck loads of nuclear-hot hot potatoes. I can already hear the "beep beep beep" of the backup alerts as the trucks back into place, their steaming loads ready to be dumped on someone who's never had any proper training for the job of running the most narcissistic nation in the world.

FAR, thank you for joining me in the continuing education of BleakLife "by the numbers" at the tail end of last week's post this morning. We will almost surely have to continue the process. I'm looking forward to doing the corn ethanol numbers for his benefit. Any bets as to whether or not the ol' Bleakie-Bot is going to learn anything? (I saw signs of movement within last week's post.)

[Farmgal]

I'm not hearing much about the issues I am most concerned about from any of the candidates. Kucinich was probably the closest. So given that, I will look for intelligence, and yes, hopefully a new direction. Obama is tops on my list at this point. He doesn't have much of a track record in elected office- but neither does Hilary really.

As for Obama being "groomed"-nah- Hilary is the "anointed one" as far as the Democratic Party leaders are concerned- which is why she is so ticked off at Obama as she feels this has been promised to her.

I am hopeful that Obama, who appears to be getting younger people excited about him, will bring the younger generations into the polling booths this time-hope the colleges are gearing up for voter registration and assisting college kids figure out where they are supposed to vote-some need to vote by absentee ballot in their home states.

I think he will likely do quite well in my state- which happens to be nearly "lily white"- so hopefully we can move past the "race thing" and onto issues.....

In any event I do feel sorry for whomever wins this time- given that they are inheriting an economic basketcase of a country, an energy crisis and the occupation of Iraq- just for starters. That said, I'd rather have someone with drive and smarts and a more liberal outlook take these challenges on rather than a warmonger,fascist or bible-thumper.

[EEofDC]

oops! Sorry about the double post!! Dave, stop into Borders and check out "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man"... read Chapter 32.

Yeah, good take on Manhattan... what man hath wrought.

[LaughingAsRomeWasBurningDown]

Thanks, Asoka. That's some list, but then again, I am laughing as Rome was burning down, not HoldingOutHopeTheSystemCanFixItself or LetsSelectAGoodCopThisTimeTheBadCopSuckedDonkeyBalls. But I'll try not to rain too much on the Obama parade. Maybe he could be our knight in shining armor and not the lesser evil. Seems like we always hope that about our team, and Derrick Jensen has a great riff on the whole "hope" thing.

[Matt Savinar]

Jim,

Good piece but next week can we go back to the "Wall Street whiz kids" getting assfucked by hoardes of proles rampaging into Manhattan and the Big Boyz at the HEdge Funds getting turned into worm compost. You know, that sort of thing.

[Dr.Doom]

"Race doesn't matter" and neither does presidential politics, with the possible exception of the last two where the country went drastically astray with the neocons.

What we are facing is a lot more powerful than any country's federal government can handle. Even FDR's genius had his hands full with a much lesser level of this problem. What we are discussing now is who will have the best shot at the interior decoration. It might make some difference in the near term, but not in the long run.

I'd expect no more two term presidents, or perhaps a multi-term one like FDR. The penalty for procrastination is a bitch.

[FARfetched]

No problem, Nudge — you've said nice stuff about my writing, it's the least I could do. ;-)

I guess living in the South has begun to rub off on me; I seem to be taking on stuff I know to be a lost cause (PL, for example). But who knows, maybe he'll come around. Hell, I'd settle for something more than "show me numbers, give me dates" when he doesn't lead by example & making nasty comments about the wimmenfo'k around here.

[Success Warrior]

People don't want to know how things are going to be fixed. It might mean they have to change something or give up something. I have asked several Obama supporters why they like him and it's always the same. He's a great motivational speaker. The people of America just don't care about substance. His best bet for beating Hillary (who will probably try to displace Satan as the ruler of Hell when she gets there) is to keep on giving rah-rah speeches about hope, change, and unity. Get all the people to chant, "Yes we can," without every answering the questions that the thinking people want to hear. What are we going to change and how?

[asoka]

"...without ever answering the questions that the thinking people want to hear. What are we going to change and how?"

You want another laundry list?

[LaughingAsRomeWasBurningDown]

Another laundry list? Not me, I've had enough lists for one day. Could use some more lyrics.

Was thinking how anticipating a new CFN on Monday was like Sister Ray or something: Whip it on me Jim

[Success Warrior]

Hope, unity, and change is good enough for me. It will be interesting to see how optimistic he can keep the people during a depression coupled with the reality of Peak Oil.

[asoka]

Oh, what did you see, my blue-eyed son?

Oh, what did you see, my darling young one?

I saw Barack Obama with wild wolves all around him

I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it,

I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin',

I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin',

I saw a white ladder all covered with water,

I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken,

I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children,

And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,

And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

[Gilda]

Are these the first images of what the greater suburban entropy will look like?

http://www.yahoo.com/s/793495

[zerotsm]

This post seems to be horribly off topic. To me the event of interest last week is the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell stating that after 2015 supplies of easy-to-acces oil and gas will no longer keep up with demand.

See http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/wef/article3248484.ece

[PeakLife]

"PL: "I'm asking, since it is not an engineering problem to do so, why don't we switch from gas-only cars to flex-fuel cars that can run on gas or methanol or ethanol at any mixture of the 3--on the fly? What reason is there NOT to do this?"

Do the numbers and you'll find out why. If we devoted *all* our arable land to biofuels, it would cover perhaps 25% of our current fuel needs. Then where's the food coming from?"

OK, FAR--first of all, what's your source on that 25% number? Second, methanol can be created without using plants at all (directly from coal, for example).

Again, people--expecially Sluge--I'm not here to debate the engineering fixes with you--The Conversion to the Alcohol/Coal Economy is not an engineering issue whatsoever. Also, Many of you repeat the need of having to replace every drop of oil we use with something else. THis is simply not necessary. If we replaced even 1/3 of imported oil with something else, we would effectively topple the ME empires of evil.