It is now 11:45 p.m. on Tuesday November 4, 2008 and Barack Obama has officially been declared the president of the United States of America! He has made history in so many ways including running an extraordinary and masterfully engineered campaign, and defying all odds to become the first Black president of these United States. What a mighty God we serve! As Michelle Obama and even Barack have stated or alluded to on several occasions, there was a greater force working behind the scenes; Obama was simply an instrument in the hands of an omnipotent God who is indeed able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that we can think or hope for.
Be not deceived, it is God Almighty who has spoken. He has shown the world that truth crushed down to the earth will rise again; that evil will never triumph over good; and that the sufferings of His creation and the oppression of His people tug at the heart of God and force His hand to move in a mighty way. Empires that are not built on the principles that God challenges us in Micah to live by: to love mercy, to do justice and to walk HUMBLY with our God, will ultimately crumble. "Except the Lord builds the house then the laborer labors in vain." This includes the world house, the White house, and the state house as well as our own personal houses e.g. families, communities, neighborhoods, faith institutions and the like.
This event has reordered things and presents us with a challenge to rise to the occasion accordingly. Barack can't change things alone; we all have a responsibility to refocus our works and efforts to operate on a higher level and to renew our commitment to work for a greater and more noble good in this world where the sufferings of the poor, marginalized, stigmatized and oppressed are alleviated if not eradicated.
While the Republicans made fun of the notion of "redistributing the wealth" the truth of the matter is there is enough wealth to go around where every family and especially our children can have a decent place to live, three meals a day, a high quality education, health care and access to extracurricular activities and working parents who are making a livable wage and not just the minimum.
If Barack is to succeed we must help him and this must become our sole mission--a shift from self service to servitude. As President John F. Kennedy challenged us in 1963, we must now indeed ask "what can I do for my country" and as Rev. Jeremiah Wright challenged, no longer should we say God bless America, but now is the time for Americans to bless God.
Based on what we have just witnessed, we can do it; YES WE CAN!
What makes this night even more monumental is the fact that 40 years ago Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated at the age of 40 after delivering one of his most soul-stirring and prophetic speeches,"I Have Been to The Mountain Top" speech, delivered on April 3, 1968 in Memphis Tennessee. In this speech, Dr. King eloquently, prophetically and powerfully said these words:
"Well,I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days a head. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop.And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything.I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."
Well tonight, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. can rest in peace because his prophecy has come to past: we as a people have seen God's glory and together, whites, Blacks, Asian, Hispanic, Native Americans, and mixed races, young, old, rich, poor and in between, have walked hand in hand, worked shoulder to shoulder and marched together as a people to a place we hope is at least a part of the territory of the prophetic "promised land" that Dr. King presaged.
Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Will Masses Deliver Obama to the White House?
November 4, 2008 is anticipated to be one of the most significant days in America’s history. It will be the day when Americans will be challenged to put into action the very ideals that are mixed in the mortar of America’s foundation and articulated in that sacred document we know as the Declaration of Independence (1776).
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, which among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.
For the past eight years, many people—Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike—have suffered tremendous threats to their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness under the Bush oligarchy. And, we have witnessed time and time again the most egregious abuse of power and disgraceful disregard for the public’s trust (in terms of both dollars and faith); the insane $700 billion bailout to stop the economic bleeding on Wall Street while doing what amounts to next to nothing to alleviate the hemorrhaging on main street is just one example. There has been “a long train of abuses and usurpations” for which prudence dictates that the time is right and it is our duty as Americans to “throw off such government and to provide new guards for the future security” of our great nation.
For these reasons and more, this election is much too costly for any one to renege on their duty to go out to the polls and vote on November 4 (if not earlier). While I am impressed with the massive campaign efforts on the ground that have resulted in record-breaking new-voter registrants and with what the recent polls are predicting, I am still a bit skeptical and nervous. My trepidation is for several reasons:
(1) If I may be candid, Black folk, young folk, and poor folk, those who have the most to gain and to lose have often been unreliable when it comes to turning out to the polls. Voter records provide the evidence to support this claim.
(2) While I am not afraid of what the Republicans will do because they have never tried to hide their hand. What I am afraid of is that we will allow them to play their hand as usual. The Republicans have always counted on those on the Left and the liberal Independents to take them for granted and to underestimate their power of persuasion at mobilizing their base—who by the way rarely benefits from their policies. Who I am most afraid of are the lukewarm Independents and the Jessiecrat democrats; those who publically profess to support the Democratic candidates but when the curtain is closed behind them change their minds.
(3) And, finally we can not ignore the empirical evidence and realities that time and time again indicate that race is still a major unresolved issue in America and that many people have yet to truly embrace the notion that “all men” are absolutely unequivocally “created equal.” I, along with many others, have said it many times before: it will not be intellect, leadership skills, experience, integrity, sound judgment, respect, morality or any of the other characteristics we think are crucial for a president to have, but race that will be the deciding factor for many people, Democrats, Republicans and Independents a like.
(4) And, with all eyes on North Carolina as a “Battleground state,” let’s not forget our political history. We can not forget the Helms-Gantt senatorial campaign in the 1990s or the 1972 presidential race between Governor Terry Sanford and Alabama Governor George Wallace or the fact that a Democratic presidential candidate has not carried North Carolina since Jimmy Carter’s successful bid in 1976.
The bottom line is this is an election whereby we can not assume any thing, take any thing for granted, sleep, forget, underestimate, ignore or send some one else. This election simply can not be like the last two, our children’s future, our future, and our nation’s future are at stake and this time the stakes are too high.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, which among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.
For the past eight years, many people—Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike—have suffered tremendous threats to their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness under the Bush oligarchy. And, we have witnessed time and time again the most egregious abuse of power and disgraceful disregard for the public’s trust (in terms of both dollars and faith); the insane $700 billion bailout to stop the economic bleeding on Wall Street while doing what amounts to next to nothing to alleviate the hemorrhaging on main street is just one example. There has been “a long train of abuses and usurpations” for which prudence dictates that the time is right and it is our duty as Americans to “throw off such government and to provide new guards for the future security” of our great nation.
For these reasons and more, this election is much too costly for any one to renege on their duty to go out to the polls and vote on November 4 (if not earlier). While I am impressed with the massive campaign efforts on the ground that have resulted in record-breaking new-voter registrants and with what the recent polls are predicting, I am still a bit skeptical and nervous. My trepidation is for several reasons:
(1) If I may be candid, Black folk, young folk, and poor folk, those who have the most to gain and to lose have often been unreliable when it comes to turning out to the polls. Voter records provide the evidence to support this claim.
(2) While I am not afraid of what the Republicans will do because they have never tried to hide their hand. What I am afraid of is that we will allow them to play their hand as usual. The Republicans have always counted on those on the Left and the liberal Independents to take them for granted and to underestimate their power of persuasion at mobilizing their base—who by the way rarely benefits from their policies. Who I am most afraid of are the lukewarm Independents and the Jessiecrat democrats; those who publically profess to support the Democratic candidates but when the curtain is closed behind them change their minds.
(3) And, finally we can not ignore the empirical evidence and realities that time and time again indicate that race is still a major unresolved issue in America and that many people have yet to truly embrace the notion that “all men” are absolutely unequivocally “created equal.” I, along with many others, have said it many times before: it will not be intellect, leadership skills, experience, integrity, sound judgment, respect, morality or any of the other characteristics we think are crucial for a president to have, but race that will be the deciding factor for many people, Democrats, Republicans and Independents a like.
(4) And, with all eyes on North Carolina as a “Battleground state,” let’s not forget our political history. We can not forget the Helms-Gantt senatorial campaign in the 1990s or the 1972 presidential race between Governor Terry Sanford and Alabama Governor George Wallace or the fact that a Democratic presidential candidate has not carried North Carolina since Jimmy Carter’s successful bid in 1976.
The bottom line is this is an election whereby we can not assume any thing, take any thing for granted, sleep, forget, underestimate, ignore or send some one else. This election simply can not be like the last two, our children’s future, our future, and our nation’s future are at stake and this time the stakes are too high.
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