The Obama effect

Dr. Ruwantissa Abeyratne

A historic day dawned on 5 November 2008 when the first ever black President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas was elected. He was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas.

This election brought to bear two fundamental truths - firstly that the American dream lives on and any American, no matter what colour, race or religion, can do anything and become anyone he or she wants to be. In his acceptance speech as President elect, Obama started off by saying: “If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.”

Secondly, this election also brought to bear the fact that we are entering a historic moment through a new dawn for the races of all regions of the World, whether they be from Asia, Africa or South America.

On June 3, 2008 when Obama declared his Democratic candidature he said: “America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for this country that we love”. About the American dream he once said: “America is the sum of our dreams. And what binds us together, what makes us one American family, is that we stand up and fight for each other’s dreams, that we reaffirm that fundamental belief - I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper - through our politics, and in our daily lives. It’s time to do that once more. It’s time to reclaim the American dream”.

No racial dimension

To say that there was no racial dimension in Obama’s candidacy for President of the most powerful nation in the world would be a gross inaccuracy. Some claimed that his candidacy was an exercise in affirmative action, and that it was grounded on the objectives of ambitious liberals to reach a short cut to racial reconciliation.

Some highlighted that the Pastor of Obama’s parish, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, used incendiary language that was calculated to widen the racial divide, and such views denigrated the noble stature of the nation and its greatness.

About race, Obama said in one of his speeches: “I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together: unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction — towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren”.

Statistics have revealed that while 95 per cent of the black population voted for Obama, only 49 percent of the white population did. Although this per se does not connote a palpable racial divide, it gives some indication of the ingrained racial identity and intellectual segregation of the human being which would in turn breed inequality among humans and disparity among societies. In his book Inequality Redefined Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen argues that the convenient dictum “all men are born equal” serves the purpose of deflect focus from the fundamental truth that we differ in age, gender, talents and physical abilities as well as material, advantages and social background.

It is my view that it also detracts from the inherent racial divide that separates us with the many societies of the world. Race as a source of racial disparity can be not only divisive but also insidious and depriving. Although race can be indicative of class in some societies, particularly in the Western world, being black or brown could also result in prejudices and bigotry. Sen is of the view that the way a person is viewed in a society with racial disparity could be deeply influenced by his or her racial characteristics.

Equitable treatment

He also mentions that distinctions in castes could have class distinctions in some societies and that race or caste can have far-reaching ramifications in day-to-day living that could affect access to medical facilities, equal employment or just and equitable treatment by law enforcement officers.

It is in this context that Obama’s reference to his black father is both poignant and relevant. He said: “I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother — a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe”.

In a manner of speaking, Obama, through his education, integrity and sensitivity brought the essential philosophy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights into focus with this remark. Once when I was in New York on mission at the United Nations Headquarters, I walked into the United Nations book shop and picked up, for my nine year old son, an adaptation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for Children.

This book has instant appeal not only to a child but equally also to an adult. Here is what it says:

“One day, a large number of people gathered together. They came from different places and they were quite different from one another. Some were men, and some were women. Their skin, their hair and their eyes were different colours. Their bodies and faces were different shapes.

Many people had been hurt or killed because of their religion, their race or their political opinions. What brought those people together was the wish that there should be no more war, that nobody should ever be hurt again and that people who had not done other people any harm should never be punished again. So, all together, they wrote a document.

In this document they tried to make a list of rights that every human being has, and that everyone else should respect.”

“This document is called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and this is what it says: All people are born free; all people are born equal and so have equal rights. People can think for themselves and understand what’s going on around them. Everyone should act as brothers and sisters. It does not matter what race you are; it does not matter whether you are a man or a woman; it does not matter what language you speak, what your religion is, what your political opinions are, what country you come from or who your family is. It does not matter whether you are rich or poor. It does not matter what part of the world you come from; whether your country is a kingdom or republic - these rights and freedoms are meant to be enjoyed by everyone.”

Right to live

“Everyone has the right to live, the right to be free and the right to personal safety. No one can be someone else’s slave. No one is to be hurt or to be punished in cruel or humiliating ways. The law must be the same for everyone. The law must protect everyone. People have the right to be protected by the courts, so that their rights are respected.

People cannot be arrested or sent away from their country, unless it is for a very serious reason. Everyone has the right to a fair trial. No one has the right to interfere in other people’s lives, in their families, in their homes or in their correspondence.

People have the right of free movement within their country. People have the right to leave any country, even their own, and then return. No person or people shall have their nationality taken away from them. This means everyone has the right to belong to a nation. And they also have the right to change their nationality, if they want to.

“All men and women have the right to get married and start a family, once they have reached a certain age. It does not matter what race, nationality or religion they are. A man and woman can only get married if they want to.

“Everyone has the right to own property. Anything that belongs to a person cannot be taken away from him or her unless there is a fair reason. Everyone has the right to think the way they like. People have the right to hold opinions and tell other people what their opinions are, and they have the right to practice their religion in private or in public. All people have the right to meet together and to form associations. But no one can be forced to join an association if he or she does not want to.”

Will of the people

“A government’s authority comes from the will of the people. People must show what they want their government to do by voting. Everyone has the right to vote. Everyone has the right to work and people have the right to choose the kind of job they want to do. Everyone has the right to good working conditions. Everyone has the right to equal pay for equal work. People should earn enough to keep themselves and their families healthy, to give them enough food to eat and enough clothes to wear, somewhere to live and medical attention when they are ill.

Everyone has the right to rest. They should have a limited number of working hours and should be paid while they are on holiday”.

“All children have the same rights, whether their parents are married or not. Everyone has the right to go to school and school must be free.

Everyone should have the right to be taught a trade. Education should emphasise understanding, comprehension, tolerance and friendship.”

“People have duties towards the place where they live and towards other people who live with them. Nothing that is written in this document may be used to justify taking away the rights and freedoms set out in this Declaration.

“Many years ago, this Declaration was approved. However, not all countries respect this document, and this is why everyone ought to read this document, and why it should be taught in schools all over the world.” It is obvious that President elect Barack Obama has, throughout his long and arduous campaign, implicitly endorsed the noble doctrine of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In the final analysis, the Obama effect on our nation is in his final words at the acceptance speech: “So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other.

Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

(The writer is Coordinator, Air Transport Programmes International Civil Aviation Organisation, Montreal, Canada.)