The Changes made in 2009 for 2010

Cheryll A. Bellamy, Attorney and Pastor

Who would have ever thought that the campaign slogan “change is coming to America” coined by our now President Barack Obama has become a startling reality for us? This president came into a quagmire of difficult issues the first day he walked into the oval office. We, the American people, were the recipients of these changes. The most painful changes were the economy and the two wars this nation faces. Each American now struggles to retrieve the comfort zone they had while the economy was experiencing the economic bubble of the early 1990's up to 2005. Just like the prophetic outcome of the children's song, “That’s the way the money goes, Pop! goes the weasel” - our economy did just that in 2009.

The first change the middle class experienced was greed taught by financial advisors, specifically Bernie Madoff. Greed was enemy number one. It took place on Wall Street while Main Street imploded creating toxic mortgages, loss of jobs, and a freeze on lending. We saw the continuous reward system of billions of dollars going to the CEO's of banks and other financial institutions, while the middle class barely kept up with the demands of the economy through arduous efforts of day to day survival. We saw the economic culture of America spin out of control. The lesson learned was that the major financial institutions became the “bad boys of deregulation.” Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual, and New Century Financial Corporation were examples that deregulation and derivatives, lacking intrinsic value, became the nightmare of their own demise.

The second change experienced was that both the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan sunk the economy into billions of dollars of debt, underscoring the trillion dollars borrowed from China. These two complex issues under the watch of the former president, George Bush, were the gifts given to President Barack Obama, which are now his to solve.

The war on terror has terrorized the American people and its atmosphere has generated another Darth Vader, this time not from “Star Wars.” His name is the former Vice-President, Dick Cheney.

He is the antagonist in the side of President Barack Obama. Every turn and decision made by President Obama relative to the wars were and still are being challenged with a sinister approach that President Obama is not capable of keeping America safe from terrorism. The hypocrisy of Cheney's backlash is his own failed policies that have come back to haunt him. Many from the extreme right of the GOP, fear-mongering hawks, have joined the ranks of Cheney's imaginary militia. They are led by the ideology and the old stale-mate status quo which characterizes a misdirected perception that America can fix the Middle East - we are the champions of the war on terror. The results of Cheney's recent remarks, “the president is pretending the country is not at war, which ‘makes us less safe,’" coupled with Newt Gingrich’s conclusion that the Obama's administration is more concerned with the rights of terrorists than those of Americans, continue to advocate partisanship and the tactics of politicizing the war. God is the ultimate person that keeps us safe from our enemies. For now, President Obama needs good counsel from both sides of the political aisle on how to wage war against the threats of our enemies.

The rise of demagogues has been a pivotal playground for men and women to ignite the fears of those Americans who fall for their irrational antics. Glenn Beck's use of feign theatrics, deliberate smear campaigns, and character assassinations of President Barack Obama and anyone associated with his administration has caught the attention of the media and the eyes and ears of many Americans. He is a troubling phenomenon. Many are continually baffled when they hear the rhetoric of a man who barely finished high school and who holds no college degree. Yet many extreme right-wing

Republicans are ardent followers of this mad man. Glenn Beck elevates himself as an intellectual scholar on the Constitution. Meanwhile Beck is hauling in millions of dollars, Fox T.V. ratings have increased, and his books, all of which are premised on conspiratorial theories, are on the best seller lists. His belief is that America is becoming a socialist government inspired by Marx. The other belief is that our Constitution, written by our founding fathers, was divinely inspired by twenty-eight principles. One biblical proverb states that good men can discern the character of other men by their associations and who they follow.

We must understand that Glenn Beck along with other extremists have held themselves out as being revisionary historians who always return to the structures of old paradigms. He, like many others, is trying to rewrite our history through the media, a strategy which Beck takes full advantage of to impose fear and suspicion in people who do not know how to think for themselves.

There are others who have placed themselves on the list of demagogues. Demagogues seeking the paths of fame like McCarthy, Limbaugh, and Hitler are successful in gathering their followers to believe their ideology but they become that visible stain of unpatriotic shame on any nation. It becomes an onerous responsibility and daunting task on the part of our leaders and ordinary Americans to be aware of what type of propaganda is being advanced by Glenn Beck and others like him. Their sole purpose is to control the minds and hearts of people. Knowledge is power. Truth can set us free from fear. Without God's vision for the good of America, the vision of the demagogues will shake your moral compass. If enough of us take their words as truth, it will paralyze and spiral this nation downward into defeat.

Former President Jimmy Carter's comment on racism caused an explosive reaction in this nation. Here is what was said: “There is an inherent feeling among many in this country that an African-American should not be president... Those kinds of things are not just casual outcomes of a sincere debate on whether we should have a national program on health care. It’s deeper than that.” President Carter made it very clear without any equivocation that many whites have expressed a tone of racism. They have made every effort to de-legitimize President Barack Obama's presidency. Carter said: "I think it's based on racism.”

Many of the left wing liberal commentators agreed with Carter's comments as well as the majority of African Americans and a good portion of decent white Americans. Others thought that his comments were too confrontational. It became a divisive tool furthering the divide of this nation. Some white Americans skittishly moved away from this controversial comment on race. It was too emotional. Their responses were avoidance and denial. Within this same group, there is a type of wishful thinking which enhances the idea that we live in a post-racial environment after electing the first African American president.

We heard the Republican Party's political rhetoric that the Tea Party Rallies and Town Hall meetings were venues for average Americans to engage in the Democratic process. The Republicans called this using their constitutional rights to remove any hint of legal restrictions on the disapproval and racist demonstrations of their constituency. Their propagandist vocabulary has now been coined, “spirited debate.” On its face we know better. They ignored heated racial overtones displayed on their protest signs. Their words and pictures of President Barack Obama would make the average American who possesses any fiber of morality blush with shame.

We have failed in some respects to act on the principle that all people are created equal in this nation. The inflammatory racist remarks became the ghost of the past in light of Barack Obama, the first African American president. The dream of racial equality must be owned by all Americans. The year 2010 will be another year of change. It will clear the old waste places. The painted canvas of 2010 can be a picture of hope for all to see.