The
Testimony of History: First Black President of the
United States
What
President-Elect Barack Obama Must Do Now
IDEA
Editorial
November 5, 2008
If
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy were
still alive today, both of them would have been
elated but stunned to witness their dreams come
true and see the White House symbolically
transforming into an ivory and ebony complexion of
the executive branch government. On the other
hand, if W. E. B. Dubois were still alive today,
he would have been flabbergasted by the testimony
of history, a momentum that propelled the first
black man to the highest office of the land,
contrary to his pessimistic impression of race
relations in the United States in the early 1960s.
Dubois was disgusted by the ill-treatment of
African Americans and the toxicity of racism, so
much so he renounced his US citizenship and sought
to become a Ghanaian citizen and he died the same
day when a quarter of a million people converged
in Washington DC for the Martin Luther King ‘I
have a Dream’ speech on August 1963.
What
many scholars, historians, and politicians
unwittingly seem to forget to underscore, however,
is the unforeseen historical circumstances that
somehow shape the contours of history itself.
Martin Luther King’s dream could not have
materialized four decades ago, but now we have
witnessed it by the remarkable victory of Barack
Obama. On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King said,
“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of
Georgia, sons of former salves and sons of former
slave-owners will be able to sit down together at
the table of brotherhood… I have that my four
little children will one day live in a nation
where they will not be judged by the color of
their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today… I have a dream, that one
day, right here in Alabama, little black boys and
black girls will be able to join hands with little
white boys and white girls as sisters and
brothers.”
Whether
African Americans will not be judged by color of
their skin in the 21st century remains
to be seen, but throughout the campaign we have
witnessed little black boys and white girls
singing for Obama without any racial context. We
have seen black and whites working indefatigably
for Obama’s ultimate success. Indeed, the Obama
phenomenon drew spectacular turnouts of all colors
and shades in major rallies, unparalleled in the
history of the United States.
Now
that the dust has settled, we must all in unison
get down to business and extend our help to
President-Elect Barack Obama. We at IDEA first
congratulate Obama for his victory and we like to
offer our two–penny advise to the new president
and his administration.
First
thing is first. Obama’s immediate task must
focus on the domestic economy and appoint capable
people to the posts of the Secretary of Treasury
and the Federal Reserve. Above everything else,
the economy must come first. Without a healthy
economy, the effective conduct of government
cannot be contemplated. In order to have a healthy
economy, however, the first measures that must be
taken are the implementation of a new financial
system that is duly regulated and that is
transparent and accountable. While the liquidity
is a necessary infusion to regenerate an economy
in shambles, the long-term solutions of capital
and/or financial projects must have the upper
hands in the reform of the financial system. The
major nine banks that have been awarded the 700
billion dollars bailout must lend to investors at
all levels and the Banks should no longer have
hedge funds under their umbrella. The monetary
system (monetarism) should be seriously
reconsidered and the false premise that the market
regulates itself or the
‘invisible hand’ á la Adam Smith is
too archaic to serve as a paradigm for a 21st
century economy.
The
second in the priority agenda should be foreign
policy and the Obama administration must appoint
not only a capable Secretary of State, but also
envoys and ambassadors who could negotiate a deal
for a lasting peace in the Middle East, including
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the war in
Iraq. America under Obama must also signal
dialogue with North Korea, Iran, and the Taliban
in an effort to mitigate violent conflicts and
ensure peaceful coexistence. This bold initiative
by the Obama administration would give the US a
wonderful opportunity to change its image of
international police and enable this nation to
utilize her enormous potential for global
cooperation via the power of ideas versus warfare
and free and fair international trade as opposed
to the G7 (group of seven) monopoly and the unfair
policy of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Above all, the Obama administration must grapple
with the hard fact that the world is a web of
interlocking multilateral alliances, and not
simply a unipolar globe monitored by a sole
hegemon. The Obama administration must also
seriously consider the end of a realist US foreign
policy that have been babysitting, rewarding, and
supporting corrupt, wicked and dictatorial regimes
in the Third World, particularly Africa.
The
third priority agenda of the Obama administration
must be in the areas of education, health, and
infrastructure. Throughout the campaign, Obama was
emphatic on rewarding teachers, which is a noble
thing to do. Beyond teachers’ salary increment,
however, the collaborative effort of the federal
and states’ governments must deal with the de
facto segregation in American schools in order to
truly begin the healing process.
With
respect to health, it is a shame that 47 million
Americans don’t have health insurance. The Obama
administration must ensure the uninsured and pave
a way toward a universal healthcare system.
In
infrastructure, America is the envy of the world.
No nation has built superhighways, perennial
roads, and magnificent bridges as the United
States did. However, these infrastructures need
immediate attention for repair, maintenance, and
renovations. After all, American infrastructure is
the tributary and lifeline of the economy.
Renovating and restructuring the infrastructure is
tantamount to revitalizing, cushioning, and
boosting the national economy.
We
wish all the best to President-Elect Barack Obama
and his cabinet!
On
behalf of IDEA, Inc.
Ghelawdewos
Araia
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