This past week's events have re-patrioted a nation while putting the world on caution. The killing of Usama Binladen last Sunday was vital news to most Americans. Much like 9/11, Americans will remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news...'Usama Binladen is dead'.
I was watching Celebrity Apprentice, enjoying the cackling between NeNe and Starr (you have to watch the show to understand). The "Breaking News" abruptly interrupted the show right at the best part. Maybe intentionally done by the Prez to poke back at Donald Trump for the birther nonsense over the past month. Nonetheless, the President addressed the American people saying Osama bin Laden had been killed.
As I watched the TV, I was neither happy or sad, grateful or remorseful. The news came and I thought...Ok...now what. There hasn't been much in the way of major news on Binladen since 2004...Bush's election year. Although, we could deep dive and argue the relativeness of Binladen and the origins of his terrorist theology but for this blog we can agree that his persona has been the galvanizing focus legitimizing a war against terror for the common American.
In the now what of a 'Binladen-less' world, we saw scenes of people cheering at the White House, Ground Zero, interviews and blogs expressing happiness that Binladen was dead. In the midst of the country's joy, I couldn't help feeling justice may have been replaced with vanity. Americans, in all of our bravado, all of our 'winning', our 'John Wayne-ness', were happy that the good guys won but I couldn't help but wonder what was going through the mind of our President.
In the wake of 5/1, I began wrestling with the realization that our President may not be who we thought he was. Historically, African-American leadership has maintained a priority of social justice and equity. Our leaders have always had a moral prophetic tongue, willing to speak out against injustice to the most powerful of the land. But what happens when the most powerful of the land is one of us?
During the 2008 campaign, we learned that President Obama was nurtured and mentored by Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Then Senator Obama, came under fire for his 20-year relationship with Rev. Wright as Wright was mis-characterized as a hate-filled, separatist Black preacher. But Black folk are familiar with the theology of Rev. Wright, a theology founded in Black Liberation, an exegesis of social justice from the doctrine of Christ applied to the struggle of oppressed peoples.
For many of us, Rev. Wright legitimized Sen. Obama, giving him clout as a subscriber to a long history of social justice warriors. Rev. Wright was a mentor to him, like Elijah to Malcolm and an inspiration like Thurman to Martin. President Obama spent formative years engaged in the study and application of Wright's theological narrative of Black struggle. He was a student and well grounded in what King called the triplets preventing social change, "racism, materialism and militarism". Bearing the most profound legacy of social justice then any President, accompanied with a familiar ‘face’ and language, preaching a rhetoric of hope and change, prompted the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award him the Nobel Peace Prize. Today that awarding seems premature as our nation is more occupied with Bush's "Axis of Evil".
So, what now… We have to give up the notion that President Obama has come in the spirit of King. He's not a Civil Rights leader or a social activist, he is a politician. A politician filled with empathy and compassion but a politician nonetheless. Being a politician requires conciliatory responses to what you may normally oppose done for the sake of progress. Binladen was a concession to the Presidency. It was a political goal, whether we like it or not that had to be achieved if presented the opportunity.
This wasn’t his first Presidential concession and won't be the last. We’ve witnessed others like Libya and the continued push of militarism in Africa and the middle East. There are national efforts that were in place long before President Obama. Maybe we shouldn’t hold him to the fire for those and look deeper into their origins and purpose.
A President of Change is a momentous task. President Obama maybe our best prepared leader for change. Yes, I cringe every time he refers to Abraham Lincoln as a great influence but I believe he can be a ‘King’ sitting in the oval office… but only if he maintains his ‘Wright’ mind.
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