The Sad Failure to Seize the Moment

I try to like Barack Obama but every time I give in to that particular feeling he reminds me he is first of all part of the cabal of the rich and elite ripping this nation apart.
In his recent State of the Union message Obama once again displayed his great oratory skills. A few times he actually challenged the system he is so much a part of. He commented on the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision to grant "personhood" to giant corporations, effectively opening the door for even more money of special interests being able to buy the American elections. Justice Scalia was seen vigorously shaking his head "no" and mouthing the words, "you're wrong". Of course Scalia is one of the intellectual giants in his own mind.
Then Obama noted it was George W. Bush's presidency that brought the disaster of the financial collapse to the people of the nation and that he, Obama, was left the task of cleaning up the mess. There's a certain cruel irony that the first black President would have to clean up the huge mess of a white man whose policies were among the most damaging to blacks in America since the 60's and 70's.
Obama even made note of the lock step obstruction of the Republicans in the Senate making 60 votes necessary to pass any bill. He scolded them for their obvious attempt to destroy his presidency without giving a damn about the American people. And, he put the burden of governing back on their shoulders if obstruction of his policies was to continue.
Obama didn't let the Democrats off easy either when he reminded them they had the biggest majority in Congress in some time and now was not the time to "head for the hills". Of course, it's obviously clear, both parties are pretty much the same in their lack of courage. All elected officials play to the polls and the big money financing their campaigns. The people can clearly be inundated with talking points and sloganeering that will make them accept anything the rich bastards decide they should accept.
So, Obama did make me like him for some of the things he said but his actions and the rest of his speech just fortified my outrage for his failure to seize the moment in history to make changes that will actually push the agenda of those most in need. His continued failure to look at the excessive spending on the military industrial complex continues my lack of respect for this man who has so much potential that's been wasted.
Obama talks about a freeze on spending to bring down the national debt but excludes the spending on the military and all the ancillary funding that's involved in keeping the military going. The exclusions from spending freezes amount to 70% of all spending by the government with tax payer dollars! All that's left to freeze are programs that could actually bring positive changes to the lives of everyday people.
All around this nation schools are facing huge budget problems that will result in closing schools and laying off teachers. Higher education budgets are being cut so drastically the tuition for a state university is prohibitive for most citizens' children. Community colleges are being touted as the "new" way to get a college education. Of course after getting an associate degree most students won't be able to go any further in pursuing higher education.
Homelessness, mental health and substance abuse treatment, treatment for the disabled young and old, child care, early education, hunger and all the many problems faced by more and more Americans will be more and more ignored in state and local budgets. Already cities and states are telling the poor, the newly foreclosed and unemployed they can't help. Already schools and programs meant to help the at-risk students are being chopped from budgets.
But, never fear, Obama is here. We can still send our children and grandchildren to war! The wars will continue on and more and more young people will be needed to do the bidding of the masters of war. As Smedley Butler so correctly stated, "war is a racket". We manufacture little in this nation except the tools of war and the equipment needed to keep wars going. In Slidell, LA there's a company making Bradley armored vehicles. That's the major industry of the town. All over America there are these types of companies dependent on the wars continuing. Just today there was a story that the US sold 7 billion dollars of arms to Taipei. Imagine how much we are selling Israel!
Obama can make nice speeches and tell us he's for the common citizen but his actions refute his words. And, watching the mostly white contingent of Republicans in Congress, I can't help but think many of their leaders would be wearing white sheets and robes and burning crosses just a few decades ago.
The hatefulness and obvious distaste shown by their faces and body language are telling. These are the looks of the racist whites who beat down and hosed civil rights workers in the 60's. These white elected officials of the Republican Party are the descendants of the KKK and those who lynched blacks. They'd deny they're racists and accuse anybody who called them racists as being anti-white and using the race card. They will rail against the burden placed on white men with the use of equal opportunity laws and affirmative action. And they will never get it. These are the representatives of the deluded who can't accept the US will become a nation in which the majority will not be white.
It's been clear Obama would encounter the racists as the first black President. But, the extent of the Republican obstruction in Congress is unparalleled. And, the coporate media refuses to comment on it. In America, we don't talk about racism, sexism, homophobia and anything diferent from the Euro-centric "norm".
I live in a neighborhood where the residents were almost completely Anglo. Over the 26 years I've been here I've seen the neighborhood change to one that is at least 50%  Spanish speaking. A large influx of immigrants has come to this lower middle class neighborhood. No doubt many lack proprer "papers". Many live with more than one family in a single family dwelling. Many park their cars on their lawns and don't necessarily believe growing and watering grass is absolutely needed.
I like my neighborhood except for some of the old-timers who have talked with me in the local stores griping about how the neighborhood has "changed". They ask me how I like living next door to "them". They talk about the number of cars or people that live in some of the homes. What's really clear to me is the innuendo of these neighbors. They're talking code. Racist code. They don't talk with "them". They only assume about "them".
This is America today and try as I might to like Obama I can't. I can't like him because he has sold us out to the very people who would have gladly lynched him 30 years ago. He has sold us out to the robber barons and gangsters who have oppressed the poor, the people of color and the worker for a century or more. And they will not change simply because we now have a black President. They'll eventually make Obama the scape goat for all that has happened since Ronald Reagan's disastrous reign. They'll point to the first black American President as proof the black man can't govern. Nor play quarterback.
In my sixty years on this planet I have seen much. But the one unshakeable truth has always been the racism that prevails in far too many minds of Americans.