Is America Still Blighted?
America has a
blighted history. America is no
different from others; it has a long history of enlisting the poor and downtrodden
to protect its purposes of triumphing in greatness. The scary yet true fact is that many of our
presidents believed in the slavery of African Americans. President George Washington owned 216 slaves.
He was born into a
world where slavery was considered a normal part of life. At the age of 11, he
inherited 10 slaves from his father. He expanded his landholdings and acquired
more slaves over the years to improve his productivity of his farms. He was in
the tobacco business and owned over 100 slaves. His wife also owned over 100 slaves,
which she inherited from her first husband. Historians say he wanted to free them and he
even tried but failed, even after his death.
They say he wanted to emancipate
slavery but he knew it was not the time, that it was not financially feasible
for America, and that it would indeed trigger a civil war. I guess he was right. It did trigger a civil war and America did
emancipate the slaves when it was financial feasible for the rich. I wonder though, why couldn’t the President
Commanding Officer of the United States of America figure out how to
successfully free his own slaves, if that’s really what he wanted to do?
Thomas Jefferson owned
650 slaves. Presidents Andrew Jackson,
James Madison, James Monroe and Ulysses Grant also owned slaves. President
Abraham Lincoln, the president known for signing the Emancipation Proclamation also
owned slaves. There were 14 presidents between President
Washington and President Lincoln. They
condoned, upheld, and supported slavery.
On January 1, 1863 Lincoln
signed the final Emancipation Proclamation.
Some historians say Lincoln
did care about the slavery issue but played both sides of the issue well enough
to gather political support and votes.
It seems to me that the signing of the Emancipation of Proclamation was
not out of concern for the group of people enslaved and remaining ignorant of
their origins and uneducated regarding their potential; but because of
economics. Though Blacks had been
cruelly severed from Africa generations before, he considered sending the
slaves back to Africa, to Liberia. His
decision to sign the proclamation was the best move for the economy of the
nation as a whole. Thus, it was all about the money. Though there were those who spoke out against slavery, was it more economic than moral? How many years were Blacks enslaved and brutalized before they decided to stop it? How did it expand uncontrollably? How was it allowed to be entrenched in America's history in the firs place? Where were all the moral people when the hundreds of slave ships docked on America's shores with human captives? Does America have a blighted history?
There were 18 presidents before the Civil Rights Act
initiated by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 was signed by President Dwight
D. Eisenhower in 1964. Rumor has it;
Eisenhower would have committed political suicide had he not signed the
Act. Let’s backtrack a bit. So, there were 18 of our great presidents who
supported, promoted, or condoned by silence the inequality of Jim Crow and
segregation. Then we elected Richard
Nixon, who buried funds to minorities with creative entrepreneurial concepts
under mountains of red tape.
It took the next president, Gerald Ford only 1 week after
being sworn in to invite the Democratic Representative Shirley Chisholm and The
Congressional Black Caucus to the White House to discuss the issues that
plagued Blacks nationwide. It took Nixon 14 months to host such a get
together. At this meeting they
disguised poverty, unemployment, drugs in urban areas, rising crime, the
military budget, voting rights, and the economic development, and the status of
Black women. The Black Caucus presented
President Ford with position papers on the issues. I was young but I remember reading about that
meeting in the newspaper for a History class. Along with other African Americans living in
urban areas, we waited for change. And we waited, and waited, and waited. We had thoughts back then. What was really in those position
papers? Did anyone ask “the black
people” suffering from these plagues what we felt, what we needed, what we
wanted.
Before we knew it, it was time to elect a new president. In 1976, the people decided upon Jimmy Carter
for relief. They called him “the peanut
farmer” but he had a firm understanding of both complex legislation and
administration. This was my first year voting. I was 18 and my mother proudly walked with me
to the polls to cast my vote. One
democratic leader stated at the time, “We could run an aardvark this year and
win.” One thing I do remember is that
Carter appointed more Blacks and women to his cabinet than any of his
forerunners. According to the number of
Blacks who still suffered from societal plagues, this simply wasn’t
enough.
Next in the line up of our presidents is Ronald Reagan who
was mocked in our songs, television dramas, social events, and even our writing
because of his illegal activity. Imagine, the President of the United States,
the Commander in Chief, the leader of one of the greatest countries in the
world caught of illicit political activity.
Being a sloppy leader, he resembled Nixon who was impeached, in his leadership style.
America has a
blighted history.
Coming from a long line of politicians, George H. W. Bush was
next to be president and unless you dig into newspapers written during his
leadership, who even remembers what he did or did not do for the people of
America. His accomplishments are a
vague memory. We do remember our young
men being sent to nosy around in the business of Panama, Kuwait, and operation
Desert Storm in the Gulf War. We also
remember him leaving citizens at home discontent because of a wishy-washy economy;
rising violence in inner cities and an unrelenting excessive deficit in
somebody’s spending.
Running an entire nation of people has to be a difficult job It
was time for Bill Clinton to try his hand at it. It is commonly spoken that He stole the
title of first African American president from current President Obama. Because he smoked a blunt, defrauded his
marriage, and plays a Saxophone.
I am ashamed that these are the
comparisons. Others say he was the first
president who listened to the needs of African American, though what he could
do to improve the poverty plight was limited. During her campaign president,
Hillary Clinton aimed to remind African American people about “the good times”
when her husband was president. I often wonder
why some please those were “good times”.
The times seemed the same to me, not much different from any other. These “good times” are erroneously deemed an
economic boom. I am not sure who boomed,
but from where I sat the disparity did not change much. I saw the same social ills when I looked out
my window. The students with whom I
worked suffered the same ills and disparity that The Congressional Black Caucus
wrote in their position papers to President Ford, for presidents before. The welfare reform debauchery, the growth of
blacks in prisons, and the public abandonment of progressive African Americans
are a few of Clinton’s most memorable disappointments. So, should we celebrate
President Bill Clinton? Nobody is
perfect. Right?
America has a
blighted history. There are so many
Black conspiracy theorist that involve our illustrious past president George W.
Bush. Though he was not impeached like
President Nixon, when his name is mentioned you either get two responses from
others. People frown at the sound of
his name or laugh because of his polices and antics. It was during his presidency that airborne
terrorists attacked the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the attack
against the White House of Capital was spoiled on September 11, 2011 that
killed close to 3,000 Americans. CNN
says that America lives under the shadow of war and debt left from the Bush
administration. Was he a blighted
president? You decide.
According to some, genetically speaking President Barak Obama
isn't the first black president because genetically he is half
Caucasian and half African blood. Others say his he acted like a gangster as he
pushed his Health Care Bill. Princeton
University Professor Cornell West compares President Obama to scarred
Presidents Bush and Nixon. During the
last State of the Union address Obama proposed a new score card for
colleges. He says it gives
a level of transparency to the real cost of college and provides students with
a tool for a good comparison. Critics
say the financial data on the site is outdated and needs to be updated. They
say while tuitions has risen, financial aid packages offered by colleges have
gone down. I don’t really see these as
criticism of the Score Card though. They
seem to be trying to offer excuses for the rise in tuition costs, which appears
to be a school choice. The critics are the
college administrators who appear to making excuses about why students are
spending more money.
Speaking
of money. I want to talk to Mr. President about the extra missing from my
paycheck. I do not like it at all and I need to be reminded of the reason. He is proposing a plan for quality headstart programs for all America’s little people. I
personally think that is awesome! Now
how will we get the trifling parents to get the heck up and out to get these
babies to school? Do you know that
absenteeism is a hugh reason why Lil Johnnie still can not read? Obama also says that minimum wage will be
increased to $9 per hour? I say, cool
but is there an act for shiftless employers trying to save a buck that will
make it illegal to decrease the hours worked so employees can actually see the
increase? Is there an Act for that, Mr. President? A Violence Against Women Act. I like that too, and I do appreciate it. Can we have an Act that requires men not ignore
their children? Since it is abuse, can
we also make that illegal? That's abuse too you know? If an Act were
passed that prevented anyone over 50 from paying student loans and bogus red
light tickets I'd figure out how to do flips.
My
employer said I get the day off. An
extra day extending the weekend is always good for whatever the
celebration. I wish it were with pay
though. I wonder will a future president
address the issues of the Adjunct faculty at all these colleges on the Federal
Score Card. We work as hard as full time
faculty and have earned the same degrees.
I think this issue is Act or Bill worthy. While they are at it can they change the name
Adjunct to Contingent? I hate
Adjunct. I realize it means assistant or
helper but we do a whole lot more than help and assist.
My
point is, someone will have a criticism for everything. However, with the new acts being implemented
by our current president, do you think America’s blighted past is finally being
shadowed with a few respectable issues for which all people can benefit. Happy President’s Day!
