I've never quite known what to think of Dr. West. I respect him without a doubt, but he has always seemed deliberately wordy to me and I'm an impatient, as blunt as humanly possible kinda woman. I have to say; though, I have gained a new found respect for the man. He had the courage to say what I've been thinking for a while now but people actually pay attention to him.
I voted for Obama. I had so much hope. But, he has proven himself to be no different & I can not claim to be a principled progressive and deny it. What will come of our country? With the village idiots running the right and neo-liberals (rather then liberals) in the lead on the left who knows. If a third party was ever going to have a chance for the presidency in this country, could this be the time?
Yeah, Cornel's a wordy professor type, but I usually agree with the things he says. Kucinich or Edwards would've been better than Obama. Obama made a few promises during his campaign, but most of what he said, from what I remember, was vague and/or "reach across the aisle." I figured only one of two possibilities could be true: either he was too naive to realize that the right would refuse to work with him unless he did everything they wanted, or he thought that we were that naive. I was sure of the latter. I knew he was just another centrist like Clinton was, but 8-16 years later and further to the right since because the center's been moving to the right for decades.
ReplyDeletePeople were so mobilized and hopeful, though. I thought there was a chance that they would keep the pressure on him to fulfill his promises and even go beyond them. I don't remember his wording, but in one of his last campaign speeches, he said something that reminded me of what FDR is believed to have said: "Now go out and MAKE me do it." Several of Obama's decisions should have made Washington, D. C. look like Madison, Wisconsin. Obama is failing, but we'll never know how big a failure he really is, because there haven't been enough people MAKING him succeed.
No matter how many times I proofread, I always find another mistake. The last sentence of the first paragraph should be, "I knew he was just another centrist like Clinton was, but 8-16 years later and further to the right since the center's been moving to the right for decades."
ReplyDeleteI wasn't enthusiastic about Obama, I just voted for him because I'd vote for Caligula's horse before I'd vote for any Republican, & I figured a Democrat might do less damage & give us a better chance to mobilize before it was too late. We're beginning to wake up, but I'm still not sanguine about our chances. The so-called supply side economists & fundamentalist right have been busily engaged in the "social engineering" they so object to on the part of the left, reshaping the social, political & economic infrastructure of America over the last 30 years, & I think both the supply-sider's & fundies would quite happily destroy America if they can't rule it.
ReplyDeleteSorry to be a bore, but I'm honestly afraid.