Tavis Smiley reviews the legacy of Dr King with regard to his critical comments about the US war in Vietnam and the fallout that he faced from Americans - White and Black. He then does some measure of comparison to the present war efforts of President Obama in comparison to his (Obama's) words said on the campaign. (I have not yet seen the video and thus can't detail the extent of this contrast).
Per the "Democracy Now" interview below it appears that Tavis Smiley assembles his standard set of "Tavis & Friends" partners to provide a leftist critique of the President and how he has come up short as compared to his words of peace which prompted them to actively campaign for him - explicitly and tacitly - a few short years ago.
In my appraisal of the big picture that this entire machine has painted their indictment should be rendered against themselves, the Black Progressive-Fundamentalists.
While they are allowed to reside on their mountain called "the moral high ground" they should note that Barack Obama has ascended to the office of the "Commander In Chief". He has not changed. His responsibility has changed per the office that he now holds.
It is THEY who chose to believe that he might radically abandon the legacy of the office and the expanded sensibilities of the office-holder. Thus it is they who stand today, having sold themselves on an array of unrealistic expectations.
These are the very same people who cast Obama as a "blank canvas", for everyone to paint their dreams upon him as such.
They now claim to be gently nudging the President who they helped elect into power on the winds of CHANGE to now correct his course.
The truth is that:
Will stop them from trying harder for him in 2012. After all - a course correction requires more time.
WHO IS THE BIGOT in this situation?
They are unable to see that they now are living in the scenario that those who struggled for us for so long in the past had once aspired for to achieve in the future. Their machine controls all of the key variables where our people live but with their monotone megaphone trained upon our people they are allowed to set the narrative of their own story.
Absent from this story is any sense of self-critique with the possibility of self-expulsion as a consequence to them falling short of the standards that they previously set for themselves.
Just as the National Urban League can publish their dream of having "full employment in 'living wage jobs' by 2025 for all Americans, with their their good intentions winning them praise from those who feel "economically marginalized. The quixoticity of their drive will ultimately go unchecked. It was enough to get the machine elected. By the time 2025 comes - they will have implemented yet another "stretch goal" for the Black rank and file to dutifully follow as a sign of unity.
I consider our common goal to be the drive toward accurately modeling the real world around. With this model with fidelity in hand we as a people are empowered to develop a set of counter-forces that can achieve the appropriate correction. For some people their own bias prevent them from making the proper assessment. To do so would require them to go against their own ideological leanings.
Not even the "change" in Obama affords them the opportunity for them to do the appropriate introspection.
In this battle between the fidelity of King and Obama to the realities of their situation I am forced to make the distinction between a man who was on the outside of the official channels of government and one who is, by definition the "inside man". The first was agitating from the outside for the nation to live up to its creed, no need to ponder election returns in the process.
The other man is in the seat of power and thus is forced by the circumstance of reality to captain the ship of state. His every word has financial, military, homeland security, legal and political consequences.
If only THEY would bind themselves, their actions, their theories to something that has consequences. Let's start with the "Black Community's Permanent Interests"?
The real indictment is against the entire machine which has built itself up from every local Black community through to the White House and Congress. Both Obama and his present critics from the left are passengers upon this vessel.
They no longer "agitate" against the person sitting in the seat which is failing our community's interests as they did before. Now they struggle to make the occupants in this seat successful.
Instead of "Speaking Truth To Power" they now speak as if they are standing in his shoes. Today when they speak the "wind" that is created merely spins the windmills that they are chasing so doggedly.
More than anything else - the Black community needs a system by which all operatives who claim to be working for our permanent interests - are transparently evaluated; supported for leading the masses to our competency development goals, but also dutifully excluded out when their plans (and the ideology upon which they were based) fails.
We cannot afford to key "trying harder".
You probably do not have the Flash Player (Get Adobe Flash Player Here) installed for your browser or the video files are misplaced on your server!

1 comments:
Thank You for posting this! I love your blog!!
Common Cents
http://www.commoncts.blogspot.com
ps. Link Exchange??
Post a Comment