March 31, 2008
Senator McCain’s path to victory is not his war record. The vast majority of voters were born after the American War in Vietnam. Furthermore, we Americans are devoid of almost any knowledge of history. Young Americans who will be a large part of the electorate in November, especially if Senator Obama is nominated, are not as glued to old folks’ brand of patriotism, e.g., never say anything bad about America, never oppose our military, never address elders by title, Sir, Mr., always now by first names, John, Barack, Hillary.
McCain’s path to victory is to emphasize our success in Iraq, the surge, and to forge a new republican economic policy that promises to help the middle class as much as the present administration has and is helping the rich--a la the Bear Stern Bailout.
This new republican extrication of the middle-class can and should be couched in individualism terms but in fact structured so as to help middle-class suffering Americans. It could be as simple as setting up a temporary federal sunset agency (an agency with a definite expiration date), designed just for this purpose. This will somewhat ally the republican’s distaste for big government.
McCain certainly has the statute and the creditability to pull this off. He could add to his cross-the-political-party-aisle, maverick appeal (which is not so much cross the aisle as it is poking his fellow rebublicans in the eye) by launching such a proposal. An additional advantage of this strategy would be to throw off democrats while at the same time remaining unassailable as a war hero and patriot. No democratic nominee will be able to match him in this regard.
This would be a successful strategy, providing the cover is kept on the lid of the American War casualties in Iraq. There is, however, nothing McCain can do if the lid blows off of the American War in Iraq. If that happens, he will simple be upended by events beyond his control. This strategy is his only hope for victory in November.
© 2008 by Lenton Aikins
All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction is permitted provided credit is given.
Lenton Aikins, Ph.D., J.D.
Dr. Aikins has traveled widely, lived abroad in Europe and Latin America, recently spending three years in Costa Rica as Director of a Spanish Language school. He holds a Ph. D. in Political Science from University of Southern California, a Juris Doctor in Law from Western State University, College of Law. He is the author of many articles and of While African Americans Slept: Leadership by Parasites, now available at: http://lentonaikins.com, and available in all bookstores July 1, 2008.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
THE OBAMA CHALLENGE TO AMERICA
Senator Obama has challenged us to face our collective history, to look it in the eye, to step up to the plate, to change our collective thinking about to race relations. As it turns out to hardly anyone’s surprise, whites do not want to be made uncomfortable. They prefer to focus on Reverend Wright sound bites to systematically deflect away from the real issues—even of this political campaign. The good Senator, who represents the Land of Lincoln, has confronted an issue (race) as implacable as the one Lincoln faced, slavery, except the current issue is white privileges, camouflaged by whites concealed in a cocoon of willful ignorance. Willful ignorance is the refusal to face the truth, a lie and the desire to not know, pretty much like the child’s willful ignorance about his or her dead father’s horrendous transgressions.
White privilege is all about things kept quiet, subsumed under merit and the claim of having achieved everything in one’s possession through hard work, merit, and “nobody gave me anything I earned everything I have” fairy tale fiction. When in fact white privilege is about 350 years of entitlements, (GI Bill or Rights, FHA financing of homes Post WWII, resulting in the widest expansion of white middle class privileges, while blacks were systematically denied these entitlements) about affirmative action of admission to West Point, Annapolis and the Air Force Academies (free elite education, followed by white privilege of rank in the military), discriminatory admission to the elite universities (Harvard, Columbia, Brown, and the Seven Sisters Colleges, etc.—one such elite College was attended by Hillary Rodman Clinton!) where kids of graduates were and are given affirmative action admission, and about systematic discrimination in lending practices--just to mention a few examples.
Buried underneath the “let’s all come together,” Kumbayah, Senator Obama told whites what they did not want to hear: that they have been the beneficiaries of government generated wealth—FHA, VA loans, etc., that enabled them to gain wealth when blacks were denied these same government benefits. He told white America that much of the bitterness among blacks stems from the fact that they are mired in a historical time zone, racially speaking, due to the harsh treatment they had to live with during the entire 350 years of American history, except the last 40 years. But he also told black Americans that many, if not most, of whites feel insecure about bussing for integration purposes, affirmative action and other government programs that whites feel benefit blacks at whites’ expense.
Going even further, Obama discussed the “two-sided” issue of race, using both his minister’s words and his own white grandmother as personal examples. Many whites resented hearing about Obama’s grandmother’s racial views. This is not a surprise: Whites want blacks to think that the problem of racism is “that other white person’s problem.” If racism is only "that other white person’s problem," then why are blacks in the position that they are?
Looking at things from this white perspective, there can be only one of three explanations:
(1) Blacks are stupid;
(2) Blacks are lazy; and,/or
(3) Blacks are stupid and lazy!
Isn’t it nice that this white thinking has three equally appealing “justifications” for the pathology of black Americans? This is not to say black Americans are blameless in this American saga. They complain about discrimination far too much while studiously making excuses and ignoring the constructive roll that self-discipline would have in helping them extricate themselves from the pathology of violence, self-denigration, and dependency on the government.
Presently, white privileges, not blatant racism, is the challenge to America. Senator Obama put his foot on it, albeit very, very lightly, when mentioning how whites have been benefitted by affirmative action and government hand-outs.
© 2008 by Lenton Aikins
All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction is permitted provided credit is given.
Lenton Aikins, Ph.D., J.D.
Dr. Aikins has traveled widely, lived abroad in Europe and Latin America, recently spending three years in Costa Rica as Director of a Spanish Language school. He holds a Ph. D. in Political Science from University of Southern California, a Juris Doctor in Law from Western State University, College of Law. He is the author of many articles and of While African Americans Slept: Leadership by Parasites, now available at: http://lentonaikins.com, and available in all bookstores July 1, 2008.
White privilege is all about things kept quiet, subsumed under merit and the claim of having achieved everything in one’s possession through hard work, merit, and “nobody gave me anything I earned everything I have” fairy tale fiction. When in fact white privilege is about 350 years of entitlements, (GI Bill or Rights, FHA financing of homes Post WWII, resulting in the widest expansion of white middle class privileges, while blacks were systematically denied these entitlements) about affirmative action of admission to West Point, Annapolis and the Air Force Academies (free elite education, followed by white privilege of rank in the military), discriminatory admission to the elite universities (Harvard, Columbia, Brown, and the Seven Sisters Colleges, etc.—one such elite College was attended by Hillary Rodman Clinton!) where kids of graduates were and are given affirmative action admission, and about systematic discrimination in lending practices--just to mention a few examples.
Buried underneath the “let’s all come together,” Kumbayah, Senator Obama told whites what they did not want to hear: that they have been the beneficiaries of government generated wealth—FHA, VA loans, etc., that enabled them to gain wealth when blacks were denied these same government benefits. He told white America that much of the bitterness among blacks stems from the fact that they are mired in a historical time zone, racially speaking, due to the harsh treatment they had to live with during the entire 350 years of American history, except the last 40 years. But he also told black Americans that many, if not most, of whites feel insecure about bussing for integration purposes, affirmative action and other government programs that whites feel benefit blacks at whites’ expense.
Going even further, Obama discussed the “two-sided” issue of race, using both his minister’s words and his own white grandmother as personal examples. Many whites resented hearing about Obama’s grandmother’s racial views. This is not a surprise: Whites want blacks to think that the problem of racism is “that other white person’s problem.” If racism is only "that other white person’s problem," then why are blacks in the position that they are?
Looking at things from this white perspective, there can be only one of three explanations:
(1) Blacks are stupid;
(2) Blacks are lazy; and,/or
(3) Blacks are stupid and lazy!
Isn’t it nice that this white thinking has three equally appealing “justifications” for the pathology of black Americans? This is not to say black Americans are blameless in this American saga. They complain about discrimination far too much while studiously making excuses and ignoring the constructive roll that self-discipline would have in helping them extricate themselves from the pathology of violence, self-denigration, and dependency on the government.
Presently, white privileges, not blatant racism, is the challenge to America. Senator Obama put his foot on it, albeit very, very lightly, when mentioning how whites have been benefitted by affirmative action and government hand-outs.
© 2008 by Lenton Aikins
All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction is permitted provided credit is given.
Lenton Aikins, Ph.D., J.D.
Dr. Aikins has traveled widely, lived abroad in Europe and Latin America, recently spending three years in Costa Rica as Director of a Spanish Language school. He holds a Ph. D. in Political Science from University of Southern California, a Juris Doctor in Law from Western State University, College of Law. He is the author of many articles and of While African Americans Slept: Leadership by Parasites, now available at: http://lentonaikins.com, and available in all bookstores July 1, 2008.
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