Racism, the Obama Candidacy Campaign, Community

Monday, May 20, 2008

Never since the 1960 John F. Kennedy campaign has there been such a focus on the dividing lines between the candidate and the general population. In 1960, the dividing line was Kennedy's Catholicism. The underlining fear then was that the Pope would be telling Kennedy what to do, thus ignoring the dominant culture then of white, male, Anglo-Saxons.

In this tumultuous Democratic candidacy campaign, the dividing line is race. It's right out there. And it's not just Obama's membership in Rev. Wright's church and the inappropriate things Wright said that could have destroyed Obama's chances. It's not just Obama's meeting at age 8 with a then Weatherman, now professor. It's not just the media's attention to these matters and the supposed opposition of white working class males and older voters to a "black president". It's not just the feminists who support Hillary because she is linked to improving the status of women and because "It's time for a woman president." It's not just Hillary's charge of elitism in connection with Obama's remarks at a supposed fundraiser and her ex-president husband's remarks that have tarnished his reputation among the "black community". It's all of these undercurents and more that are in play in this historic campaign.

But the underlying fears are that, as in the case of Kennedy's Catholicism, that President Obama would be listening to the radical voices similar to that of Reverend Wright and, that, as a result, there would be a wholesale revolt by the Africa-American population against past and present racial oppressors he would foster. Obama is seen by some, to draw this picture to expose its extremes, as the hypnotic spy for the black community who is going to displace the white population from their seats of power, old-style politics, and cultural dominance.

This last fear is at bottom tied to the broad issue of race. At the political extremes of the right-wing of the Republican party are strongly held beliefs that the authors of the Constitution, all white men, Christians, mostly wealthy, land and slave owning, meant that its provisions were for people like them. Further, the media has reported that the conservative right wing of the party believes that everyone else in this country are "only guests". Not only blacks but even immigrants who have become citizens and wholesale participants in society fall into this category.

An Obama presidency inevitably means that these cultural biases and the old politics of WASP dominance, back-biting, ideological jousting, and decisions make in secret, have to move aside for something very different. Obama pledges that he wants to form a community of people with diverse everything to confront and to solve together common problems. In its purest sense, that means holding in abeyance, if not pushing aside, those beliefs and practices which prevent even identifying the problems and, thus, not solving them. Whether any of Obama's goals become reality, there is the potential for a great shift from what divides community to that of what brings a community together. And that means enormous adjustments in the politics of governance. Obama threatens to take away the sticks and stones, gossip, false claims, self-denial, and dominance through intimidation from the dominant political culture, i.e. "the old politics".

There will be great tumult. And I say, "Let the fun begin".

Comments

[Gregory Richard]

Konrad,
How naive.