I know. I wrote before that Obama reminds me of Mandela. But after listening to him yesterday I have serious second thoughts. But I decided not to write about it at first. First let me calm down (and that is difficult as you know) and take some time out to reflect. And last night I read his speech. Without his voice to influence me. Just words – black on white. And I am sorry to say. But Obama is no Mandela. Obama is not the American Mandela.
No. He is the first Obama. His own man in his own right. Making his own path. Building his own house. Leaving his own legacy. Obama is Obama. And one day we will write about another great leader being the next Obama. What we have in him is something special. We knew this before. But couldn’t put our finger on it completely. It got too muddled up in politics. Politics of speech writers. Politics of men and woman putting words in his mouth and reading things between the lines. Politics of the media either loving him or hating him. But always making him something they want him to be. Something they could love because he stands for what they stand for. Or something they could hate because he stood for everything they didn’t stand for. Someone they could put in a little box and point to and say, “That is who he is”. But last night he showed he is not someone to put in a little box. He is not an American Mandela. He is not a copy of what we want him to be. No. He is Obama. Warts and all – but the truth is what we see.
How often do we have the privileged to hear a man (or woman) speak about who they are? How often do we hear them talk about their personal ideals and not their political ideals? We hear them say what they stand for, but it is always in a political tone. Yesterday wasn’t about his political ideals. It was about him as a person. The good and the bad. But putting it out for us to all see and know the man behind the words.
It was him saying, “Here I am. Naked. Naked in front of you. You decide. Take me or leave me. But this is who I am”. It takes “balls” to say that. (My apologies, but can’t think of a better expression.) It takes courage to come clean and tell the people your real thoughts. Tell them about the real you. And not the you who they try to paint during elections. That “perfect” person doesn’t exist, but they try to paint that picture during elections – don’t they? Generally we don’t like what we hear. But we are human. And we know. Above all, we know. That truth and honesty is something you can’t buy. It is something that goes straight to who we are. We hate it when they lie to us. Most of the time we don’t know if they are lying or just spinning. But we know that we don’t know their heart and their secrets. We don’t know who they really are. Because they are so “experienced” in playing their games. And then we get a moment like yesterday when a politicians dares to tell the truth. The truth about himself and the truth about us.
Love him or hate him. But before you decide what to do when you go to the polls – just ask yourself one thing. Do you know who you are voting for? Do you know who they are? Have they really told you who they are or are they just telling you what you want to hear? Have they stood up – naked in front of you and say, “This is who I am. Warts and all.” I loved (love) Mandela because he came to us and told us who he is. Not perfect. Just him. And I am sorry to say. That Obama is the first person since Mandela who has opened up and told the people his real thoughts and exposed his real self. If I am in the trenches – I want to know the man next to me. I want to know if he will run or if he will fight. I don’t care what he thinks of me. I just want to be sure I know who I am stuck with – because my life depends on it. America. Your life depends on it. You decide. You vote for who you know because they came clean. Or you vote for someone who tells you anything to get your vote.
I am not going to do an analysis of his speech. It is there for you to read and make up your own mind. But I will quote him here. “Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well. For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can do that. But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we’ll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change. That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, ‘Not this time.’”
Of course you will find pieces you don’t like. That’s why this is so important. He isn’t telling you everything you want to hear. He is telling you what he thinks in an open and honest way. You have to look at his speech in that context. The whole context. Don’t pick pieces you don’t like. Look at what he said as a whole and ask whether you can trust this man who tells you the truth the way he sees it. Not what you want to hear. But what he needed to say to you so you can know him and thereby trust him. You can only trust what you know. And you now know him.
Compare him with what you have at the moment. Not only the current President. But the political leaders all around. Do they inspire you? Or do they make you go and hate someone else? Obama has made the game so much more difficult for other politicians. They will hate him for this. Because people might just expect them to tell the truth in future. And not the spin. Ask yourself when last did you see or hear a politician talk so straight about themselves and this country he loves?
My biggest concern is that America might not be ready for someone like Obama. That will be a shame. But it might not be that easy to remind people that everyone (every legal citizen) is American in this country – not so easy after so many years of a divided America. It might be too early to ask Americans to believe in themselves again. It might be to early for Americans to be asked to believe in this country again. It might be to early for Americans to see the difference between the realities of today and yesterday and the potential of tomorrow.
For those who want him to be their leader – don’t forget to push him up this hill in the next few months. People will be scared of what he said yesterday. Scared because it challenges them to be Americans united and not the easy way out by staying divided. And they will attack him. Oh yes. They will and have already started. For those out there who supports Obama – go out and tell the world. Your world. break the fear and share the love and belief he has in this country called America.
Obama will not be an easy President to have. No. He won’t. He made it clear yesterday that Americans will need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and start working to unite this country again. Make America a place for all Americans to be proud of again. Make the “American Dream” real again. It won’t be easy. Because, like yesterday, he will challenge you to think and think again in what you believe. He will challenge you to become part of the love Americans share and not the hate that divides them. He will challenge you to be an American that the world can aspire to again. An America to inspire the world and not divide it. He will ask you to work your heart out to prove that you want to be an American. He will challenge you to be proud of everything America stands for – the good and the bad.
So no. Obama is not the American Mandela. He is the first Obama. He is his own man. He made his stand yesterday. Not following in the footsteps of others we admire. But making his own path. He has shown he is a leader of this great country in his own right. Not because of his name. Not because of his color. Not because of his experience. Not because of his gender. Not because of his politics. Not because we love him or hate him. No. He has shown he is a world leader through that one thing that makes him stand next to Kennedy, Gandhi, Churchill and Mandela. You just know it when you see it. And you know it when you hear it. Some might be scared of this and fight him – they did with all of these leaders I just mentioned. But others will see it and say, “Now is the time”.
March 19, 2008 at 2:55 pm
I think that the histories of our two countries are too different to draw the conclusion that he is like Nelson Mandela.
The commenality shared by the two countries is a legacy of racism, but even that is different, because Blacks in the US were brought peicemeal to our country, whereas Whites immigrated to your country and then imposed their rule.
I can’t even make a comparison with our Native Americans work, because their fate was sealed long before the advent of the age in which oppressed (I really don’t like the word, it’s too cliche’d!) populations had at hand the means to effectively resist and overcome the power of their rulers.
Black Americans, out of all the groups in all the world, *did* manage to overcome those obstacles relatively peacefully, but the downside was the slowness with which change took place – waxing and waning for over 100 years before America became ready for someone like this.
About the only parallel I can find is that Mandela represents the realization of the ideas about what hope can do there, whereas Obama represents only yet what hope *could* do here.
I’m still hoping that there are more doubters than supporters, but, as you’ve seen on Swampland, some of these individuals are very obstinate in their beleifs.
March 19, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Keven, respectfully, I don’t know. By the time Mandela got out of prison, he was an old man. If anything, he was the symbol of hope. His genius was the ability to paint a picture of what could be.
For all the differences between the two men, Obama pretty much offers the same thing. Because Americans have so much materially, I don’t think they value ‘hope’ rightly. It can sustain a nation, and change the world.
I think America has in Obama what South Africa had in Mandela – hope. Hope enough to believe in and set out on a different direction. The only question is whether America will be smart enough to take it.
March 19, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Maybe so, but he has at least had a shot at running a country and making his ideas work, which Obama hasn’t and may not get. That’s what I was referring to. I’m hoping we are mature enough to see his value.
That materialism does show up in the large proportion of our population that has felt that the poor and minorities in count for nothing, and they pretty much took control of our country. They’ve run this country for 6 years unfettered completely by any checks and balances. They’ve done enormous damage to our country and our economy is teetering on the brink because of their policies.
Maybe I’m too one sided but I’ve watched them for 30 years, and watched your conflicts from afar for an equally long time.
I am worried that Obama’s speech only convinced the convinced and failed to convince the doubters, but it did rob the opposition of some of their favorite tools.
I think that miring in wealth like we have has robbed us of perspective. The Republicans have turned politics in our country into a shark-infested free-for-all that even Democrats are mimicking now.
I think his speech will be one of those rare speeches that will stand the test of time. Are you in SA or here?
March 20, 2008 at 12:24 am
What I always appreciated about Obama, something which seems to have gotten lost in all the punditry and claims that young people had drunk his milkshake, and were therefore drugged or mesmerized by his rhetoric, is that he always told it like it was .
That was somehow missed. He always told people it would not be easy, there would not be free healthcare for all, it was going to take forever to change things, he always told them they would have to sacrifice . At the outset I think that caused him to lose support, but as he picked up momentum it seems a lot of what he was saying was missed and it became all about his rhetoric.
This country, to me, is nothing more than a large corporation, and I hardly think the African Americans have overcome the obstacles of 200 years of oppression, as mathematically that is not even possible because their freedom occurred without restitution, and the results of that compounded like interest until integration – which really at first was only policy.
I think that is why people in this country like to pretend it’s all good when indeed there is still a significant amount of racism and considering that it was brave for him to step out – as he had to at this point – and give that speech.
March 20, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Keven, I live in Ireland, believe it or not. But people are the same everywhere, as is politics. It doesn’t matter where you are, or hat it’s called, there’s a ‘ruling class’ that doesn’t seem to care about everyone else.
I really respect Obama for not behaving like a politician. But like you said, most people’s perspective is off and unfortunately, a lot of people may just not want to hear what he had to say.
March 20, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Cooper, Tsuro:
I’ve come to the conclusion that the racial divide in our country is the unwillingness of some White voters to acknowledge that Black anti-Americanism and challenges to the norm are rooted in recent history.
The biggest single example is how Rev. Wrights’ (Obama’s pastor) stated that Whites infected Blacks with AIDS, or plotted to.
On the surface, such a claim would be outlandish, until one googles “Tuskegee experiment” and finds out that Black men in prison were used as guinea pigs in a medical experiment in the early 1900’s to see what effect untreated syphilis would have on human beings. Then, after consideration, it appears different, more like an unwillingness to acknowlege that such things are now unlikely and there is a bit of paranoia involved in such a statement. But, it certainly doesn’t qualify as hate speech.
What is odd is that the very ones who decry Mr. Wrights’ commentary as hate speech will partake more than deeply in true hate speech!
March 20, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Good Lord that’s a long post about nothing. You call yourself the Angry African? Really?
CNN is hiring. Maybe you can offer your expert opinion on how a pro-war, pro-Zionist, pro-corporate candidate is a breath of fresh air.
March 20, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Some important news for everyone, I thought I would share:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7308098.stm
There is intense reaction to the break-in three times, in January, Feb, and the latest on March 14 accessing Obama’s passport files.
Follow US links as you please!
March 21, 2008 at 7:26 pm
I think you are correct, there is little comparison between Mandela and Obama beyond the ideal of hope and even Obama said (in his speech) that his story could only happen in America.
I have to disagree and say that, although Obama shared some of his personal history, his speech was very political. It addressed the idea of pluralism in this country as an ideal as well as how it works in reality. He showed the duality of his grandmother and Reverend Wright; the contradictions they represent and continued to draw parallels, at times indirectly, between these relationships and race relations in this country. I think he uses these relationships, and his inability to denounce them, as a way of commenting on racial divisions in America and the need for social and political unity. When he ends with the story of Ashley, he crystalizes the idea of: out of many we are one.
March 21, 2008 at 10:56 pm
This is about Day 4 since his speech, and I flipflop between whether we are ready or not.
The shrill hatred has gotten worse. An individual left a death threat to Obama and Hannity left it up on his blog for over 24 hours. Said it was a “suicide suggestion”.
Extremely volatile, just like our stock market, DOW up 400 points, Obama is destroyed, DOW down 400 points, Obama is weathering the storm. The incredible level of vilification from some is astonishing. It’s like dragging someone from St. Patrick’s day, when the comforts and well-earned right to flaunt the wealth have been well established, back into the chaotic, unfinished Civil Rights battles of the ’60s.
Half are screaming they don’t want to go, the other half are screaming they must.
I thought, and still think, Obama was being honest and has no hidden agenda, but others don’t.
I’ve been on this planet (the big blue one, not that little grey one!) for 54 years and except in my youth, I’ve never seen anything like it.
Hannity’s darkness sends a shadowy shiver of something more sinister, and possibly real, if Obama does make it:
Assassination.
March 22, 2008 at 7:24 pm
AA, my new friend, you nailed it with this one. I might be so bold as to simplify and summarize with this: Obama is honest. That is his strength as a man and as a leader. That may prove to be his undoing as a politician. Americans are so shallow — we want to hear what we want to hear. You are correct that we may not be ready for an honest politician.
You also accurately predicted a spectrum of responses and reactions, as evidenced by the comments here.
March 23, 2008 at 1:12 am
Day 5:
I’ve noted a considerable evolution since yesterday. Talking to bloggers on Swampland, I’ve noted an influx of a new species:
Levopterodemus ignoramus Bennett, 2008.
The Ignorant Democrat.
I’ve come to the conclusion that America is NOT ready, and, as I explained with apologies, the Democrats have shot the dog. If you aren’t familiar with this saying, it basically means they’ve committed a horrible blunder.
These new individuals of spp. ignoramus are blithly celebrating Hillary’s success in “defeating” him. Of course, they failed to mention it was with considerable help from our own far right, which has been shrilly broadcasting hate speech nonstop since the Wright episode broke.
She has no shame, I’m sorry to say, and from all I’ve heard, the mood of the US Black voter is not conductive, to say the least, towards mending fences with her should she win the nomination.
I’m still hoping he will pull it out, he has withstood a three-on-one (Fox News, McCain, and Hillary) attack, so I commend him. He is still drawing large crowds, like today’s in Medford Oregon. Lots and lots of White faces, which gives me hope that the demogagues gleefully clinking glasses in Democratville havn’t completely assassinated his character.
I’m of the opinion that he has no other choice but to ignore the racial chatter from here on out. Even if it gets bad, he will have to, I think, because he’s tried twice, without success to blunt the unfounded charges levelled against him.
It’s a chaotic, hypocritial highstand of racial bile:
Hillary avoids tarring with her association with Ferraro, who made comments that not only insulted Black but also White voters who used their heads when deciding he’s their man.
McCain, who also avoids being tarred with his relationship with Hagee, a religious bigot who tomorrow will hold a “slave sale” at his church.
Talk about poor taste…
Hillary, in her unfettered, ambitious and unscrupulous mechinations directed towards netting her the presidency, has netted herself something else instead:
Defeat.
Why?
After having watched the events taking place, and talking with extended family, and others as well, I believe that Black voters will not support Hillary in November. They will stay home. As a matter of fact, some have told me they would rather vote for McCain.
Sorry about such a long post, but there is deep irony in her attaining her tainted success:
The 10% of the electorate she needs to win in November is the Black vote – and it won’t be there.
March 27, 2008 at 3:02 am
Obama is more like Colin Powell than Nelson Mandela. Mandela talked (and acted against) imperialism. Obama is a happy face for imperialism.
for details
http://www.blackagendareport.com
Black Agenda Report
http://www.prorev.com
Progressive Review (in Washington, D.C.)
http://www.oilempire.us/obama.html
Obama: the audacious marketing of false hope
May 5, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Hi mark:
Took a look at the black agenda report.
I had been looking for commentary on Katrina and the influx of illegal immegrants for quite a while and outside of sourcewatch, finding not much.
Thanks!
May 26, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Obama hates white people. This will only be truly known if he wins. That is a fact.
June 27, 2008 at 3:01 pm
What’s most disturbing is how Obama is above reproach. It’s become almost blasphemy to criticize him in anyway. Kudos to John Stewart for pointing this out in his comedy routine, but he’ll probably catch flack for that, just like the rest of us. It’s as if Obama has been packaged and sold to us as some kind of diety, when he’s nothing more than a junior senator, with a thin resume, who voted present a hundred times at his job.
September 4, 2008 at 6:43 pm
One thing about Obama is he is being used by others 100 percent. Namely being used for a long time by his strategist Axelrod. Axelrod found him in Chicago, was totally impressed with his speaking skills and good looks and story. Axelrod knew he could sell that story.
October 30, 2008 at 1:38 am
[...] It’s been a few months since I wrote that. Maybe you should read the post where I say Obama is no Mandela. Do I still think this about Obama? Yes. A little rougher around the edges. I now know you [...]
January 20, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Honestly speaking Obama’s history will never be like Mandela’ or even out perform it. If you look at the paths they both operated are very different. Mandela he is/was more like freedom, economic and African renaissance fighter. Obama on the other side he is economic situation and peacekeeping fighter specifically in the country that Bush has created a mess for him and obviously with an interest of their natural resources. Halala Madiba Halala and Good luck Obama in your term in the white house.
April 17, 2009 at 11:38 pm
Obama made himself and was promoted by truth and honesty and not violence. Mandela was made by the press, a puppet to end a horrible system. He was a violent man, look up, “necklacing” on wikipedia He was a member of the South African Communist party. His organisation the ANC killed many people. Obama does not sponsor terror nor has he killed anyone or plotted to bomb a railway station. Mandela did.
America is moving forward, South Africa is moving backwards, with high crime, the highest murder and rape rates in the world. This is the real Madiba legacy. Not Apatheid. SA is now one of the continents poorest nation. With a new presiden called ZUMA who has a string of corruption charges brought against him, who is supported by Mandela.
Obama is a legend in the making. Mandela is the legend that they tried to make.