Friday, March 21, 2008

The Obama Factor


He can rally the youth to break stereotypes. He can infuse hope into a culture of fear. He dares to challenge the American societal ills. Indeed the Obama movement has broken the standard rules for success in American Politics. Victory for Obama may trigger the next shift in American Politics.

America has been in a long night, a time of darkness, since the 70's, a deep darkness across all America. This darkness descended upon us all with the deaths of Dr. King, John, & Bobby Kennedy. A kind of arrestingly cold fear, a stunning blow brought on the fall of hope and light, and the rise of fear and darkness. America and especially African Americans took blow after blow to their collective dreams. The failure of "The Great Society," The Crack-Cocaine Epidemic, Reganomics, the unleashing of super capitalism all made life so tedious. Money and power became the chief goal of man. The wool was over our eyes. 9/11 was a hateful exposure to the light for the Most Powerful Nation in the world. But, this light was not hope but vengeance, and the powers that be did not believe in hope. Instead of turning hate into a better way forward, it was used to fertilize fear.

Now after almost 7 years of hate and fear and war, the opportunity to change has arisen. Here and now, change is critical. Barack Obama could very well change the current course of American History. No we cannot change the past, but the future is molded in the present. Obama has given the youth of a nation hope. This X-factor causes a sort of unease; too many have gone too accustomed to the dark. To trust someone with their dreams, someone who says they will change things, so easily seems like Volcano Insurance in Rhode Island. But at some point don't we have to put our faith in something other than money? This X-factor could alter the state of the world. Billions of lives will be changed with the mere stroke of a pen, so I pose the question; who do you want holding the pen, the old guard or the one who embraces hope and change? The known factor or the Obama factor?