End Games
Where do we go from here? The more I learn about Sen. McCain's political program, his friends and supporters, and his personality, the more I agree with many astute domestic and international commentators that a McCain presidency could very well be worse than the current one and very, very dangerous for our world. All of the anger I share with other black and progressive voters does not change the basic sobering fact that not only can the world not afford another four years of the current administration's policy, it may not survive another four years. (For example, McCain is advocating kicking Russia out of the G-8, that policy is a short road back to the nuclear nightmares, and the constant armed skirmishes of the Cold War—a Cold War with both China and Russia united against the U.S. again).
Switching to support for McCain at any point between now and November, as some advocate, is not an option. So where does that leave us? As for the Democratic Party's primary, Senator Clinton's supporters, by embracing the tactics and policies of Republican disenfranchisers, have allied themselves with those who would like to roll back the clock on basic black voting rights. And, as a consequence, they should not receive our support.
Tactically, that leaves us one option. The criticism of Senator Obama must continue when he takes positions that are detrimental to progressive causes and the black community. At the same time, to many he remains the best option in a set of bad choices during a dangerous time. Others continue to believe that, despite missteps, he remains a true beacon of hope and transformation.
I do not share that view, but I accept the strategic imperative. We must elect the most viable alternative to the current administration, and then we must vigorously hold the new president accountable. To do that we must build and sustain strong and independent black and progressive movements and we must insist that the dream of hope and transformation becomes a reality.
Michael C. Dawson is the John D. MacArthur Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. Visit him at http://michaeldawson.net
Also on The Root:
Michael Dawson on how Obama benefitted from resurgent black nationalism in "He's Black and We're Proud", why the 2008 election is "No Time for Smoke-Filled Rooms", and how "April 4th, 1968: Chicago Burned," turning him into a radical.
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End Games
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View All Comments »fsilber at 05/14/2008 2:33:27 PM
Comment:
What is so bad about being compared to Booker T. Washington? Most of what Washington wrote and said was true. We're frequently told that Black America is little better off than it was before the Civil Rights Amendment was passed, and in many ways worse off. Yet, those blacks who do follow Booker T. Washington's advice _are_ doing much better.
True, B.T.Washington's approach provides little in the way of direct vengeance for past wrongs, but vengeance doesn't come cheap.
earlp74 at 05/12/2008 1:11:03 PM
Comment:
Michael C. Dawson! please stop putting out this silly issue into the thoughts of society. You are trying to question Obama's loyalty to the black community, by words that he says, or doesn't say?? It only makes sense to "pick your battles". C'mon, if we have a man that has a chance to win the presidency. It makes no sense whatsoever to jeopardize it by alienating votes (sensitive mainstream "white" votes). He can help, once he's there. You sound like Rev. Wright! pick your battles playa!
Freedom_Jury at 05/12/2008 3:55:13 AM
Comment:
Sharpton is correct in this case, but not for the reasons he believes...
"Let us render the tyrant no aid; let us not hold the light by which he can trace the footsteps of our flying brother" -Frederick Douglass (from 'Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave')
How is it that there are still Jim Crow laws in all of our major cities, and that the citizens of the USA are not educated enough to oppose them, in the year 2008? A full 143 years after the fall of slavery, the laws treat black men and women horribly unequally... WHY?
Well, my brothers and sisters, I have done my research, and I have found the answer to this question.
SIMPLY: The culture of prohibition is the factor that allows the unequal enforcement of the law. Any law that violates inalienable property rights allows a minority to be singled out and targeted by law enforcement. The 4th amendment, the 2nd Amendment, the entire Bill of Rights cannot exist as the Supreme Law of the land, so long as there is prohibition of private property. The abolitionists of our time, the libertarians, are in agreement with me. Frederick Douglas would certainly have been a Libertarian Party member, if he had lived in our time: he fought for equality under the law, and justice for all.
Equality under the law is the last thing that modern liberals or conservatives want. The liberals want to control your pocket book, and the conservatives want to control your thinking and social behavior.
Douglass noted that the religious slaveowners were the most vicious, and he was right. The mask of social respectability is used to hide tyranny from the gullible and conformist. And the prohibition laws are championed loudly by the religious blacks. (Of course, the black panthers once saw the contradiction, and fought valiantly for their rights. The answer of the Chicago police was to literally murder thier leadership. One more reason to educate EVERYONE.)
Make no mistake: the preachers and politicians who want the inner cities to be unarmed want one thing: they want black men to be unable to properly wield force. What does this say, when the people being disarmed have committed no crime? It is racism, pure and simple, based on geographical demographics. (Sure, the occasional white man is sent to jail for gun ownership in the city, but this is simply a ruse used to propagate a system that is predominantly racist. I know of three times when whites in Chicago went unpunished for gun possession that would have carried a 14 year prison sentence had they been "uppity" black men.) The racism is institutionalized to the extent that those who claim to be fighting racism propagate it, in their simpleminded acceptance of the status quo.