This has prompted reactions like that of Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr who serves as Pastoral Associate of Priests for Life, a body fighting for the rights of unborn children. In a statement soon after Obama's election, she wrote: "The election of an African American president sends a powerful and historic message that what was previously unthinkable can become reality. The battle for equal rights has reached a major milestone, but Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream of full equality remains just a dream as long as unborn children continue to be treated no better than property. President-elect Obama has promised actions that will only increase the number of abortions. Pro-lifers, in turn, must promise to redouble our efforts to resist anti-life proposals, speak up for the babies, and, above all, pray. We must pray with persistence and love that, in God's time, what is now deemed unthinkable will become reality - that all our brothers in sisters, from conception to natural death, will be protected in law and welcomed in society. The elections are over. The pro-life battle begins anew."
Thirty-seven days from now, a new chapter in world history will open. The first Blackman ever to fly the flag of one of the major political parties for the presidency of the United States of America will take the reins of power. It is the closest thing to assuming office as president of the world. That is power at its most dizzying. It is prestige at its humbling. But above all, it is responsibility at its most challenging.
The question is can, Stephen Barack Obama, the black man, whose audacious hope, whose daring, whose resounding call for change resonated with Americans across several divides, handle it? Will the black race, which is now seen by many as "in the driving seat" through Obama be standing head held high after Obama's tenure? Or will it be otherwise?
I had said last week that the economic team announced by the President-Elect is already being hailed by those who should know. His security team, an all-super-star affair is no less hope inspiring. And if his ability to keep his campaign team under tight rein offers any clue, no one needs bother about his ability to conduct his star-spangled ensemble harmoniously.
But, if you'll allow the metaphor, I feel somewhat like Betty Wright's mum in the song, "Tonight's the Night" who told her daughter, "you know, I love the melody, but no, you are not going to sing that song!" In this case, the song does have its inspirational stanzas, but I have serious doubts about both the rhythm and the melody.
As I have tried to explain in the earlier pieces in this serial, a leader's success or failure is measured, substantially by the extent to which the values (and expectations) of the constituencies he represents, (in some cases vicariously), or appropriates are reflected in the style and substance of his leadership. I tried to show how the erstwhile President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo rated rather abysmally as a reflection of both his Yoruba ethnic group and Christianity.
I tried in the last piece to identify the values that Obama might need to reflect consistently in policy formulation and execution if he is to avoid Obasanjo's fate – one that consigns him to mediatory role in some "obscure" African tragicomedy in Congo, but not a place of honour at the celebration of 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Universal Human Rights.
For ease of reference, permit me to quote a few relevant assertions I made last week.
"…African-Americans are deeply God-conscious and tend towards Christianity, and to a lesser extent Islam; they also tend to gravitate in large numbers to the liberal wing of the political spectrum, because of its anti-slavery and equal-rights origins. Also, given that the socio-economic disadvantages the man of colour experiences in the United States has its origins from slavery and its aftermath, it should be no surprise that the mere fac of "one of their own" got close enough to winning the commanding heights led the majority to jettison other considerations. All things considered, therefore, it is clear that the black man would like an Obama presidency to quicken the pace of equality between the races economically, as his election seems to have achieved in the political area. So, they are not averse to adapting the old Clintonian (Bill, that is) campaign slogan, 'it's the economy, stupid' to read something like, 'it's political and economic equality, stupid.'
"It can also be discerned that not a few members of this constituency who are Christians, including those who did not vote for him, would expect an Obama presidency to return America to God; to re-enthrone God in the public life of America; to deal political correctness some deadly blows. No, not that anyone would expect these to happen in four years or even in eight, if he gets re-elected, but they will expect him to have begun so powerfully that it will be hard to reverse things after him. This is very important because, his membership of this constituency does not derive from the colour of his skin; it derives from his own personal faith. He is himself a Christian."
In that piece we also tried to show that Obama is, by his own declaration, a Christian, who situated the activism that led him to politics as a leading of his faith. The Christian content and orientation of his government will therefore a critical factor in the evaluation of his tenure. Unfortunately and regrettably, he seems hardly correctly orientated in this respect.
Take the issue of abortion. Majority of the Christian folks in the United States of America are agreed that it should be outlawed at the federal level, but Obama's position is pro-choice. That is euphemism for, "let those who want abortion get it, even at cost to the State." In other words, abortion is a choice to which human rights apply. In his well-publicised opinion, women do not take decision about having an abortion lightly.
This has prompted reactions like that of Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr who serves as Pastoral Associate of Priests for Life, a body fighting for the rights of unborn children. In a statement soon after Obama's election, she wrote: "The election of an African American president sends a powerful and historic message that what was previously unthinkable can become reality. The battle for equal rights has reached a major milestone, but Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream of full equality remains just a dream as long as unborn children continue to be treated no better than property. President-elect Obama has promised actions that will only increase the number of abortions. Pro-lifers, in turn, must promise to redouble our efforts to resist anti-life proposals, speak up for the babies, and, above all, pray. We must pray with persistence and love that, in God's time, what is now deemed unthinkable will become reality - that all our brothers in sisters, from conception to natural death, will be protected in law and welcomed in society. The elections are over. The pro-life battle begins anew."
In electing Obama, many pundits have drawn the erroneous conclusion that social issues like abortion and homosexuality no longer rank high with the American people's priority. In fact, I have read a number of articles declaring such issues as "old fashioned" and mere tools in the hands of conservatives seeking Christian votes. But such opinions fall short of the reality. For instance, in spite of the fact that Obama, flies the pro-gay right flag, was elected in California, Proposition Eight, which sought to nullify a court-imposed redefinition of marriage to include liaisons within the sexes, sailed through. Translation: "we may have other reasons for voting Obama, but on this issue, we disagree.
I also spoke about the expectations of the Christian community with regards to returning God to public life in the United States. Many think it is just another conservative ploy to hand on to power. But, please read this report from one of the Christian wire services on what has been described as a war against Christmas:
"Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi recently confirmed to Capitol Hill missionary Rev. Rob Schenck of Faith and Action that the war against Christmas is real. Schenck… was a VIP guest at the recent US Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony held on the Capitol's West Lawn.. Following the ceremony that included traditional Christmas carols played by a US Air Force band, Rev. Schenck thanked Speaker Pelosi for keeping, as he said it, "Christ-mas" at the US Capitol, emphasizing "Christ." Speaker Pelosi politely acknowledged the remark, then pursued Rev. Schenck to tell him she had been "mugged" for doing so. Rev. Schenck commented, "At first I didn't understand what Mrs. Pelosi was saying, so I simply nodded and thanked her again, but she repeated it emphatically. I realized the Speaker was saying she had paid a serious price politically for allowing the Christmas celebration to go on. She obviously took some political heat for it. For that, Nancy Pelosi deserves to be commended, and I made sure I did so…"
Will Obama be willing to pay a serious political price like fellow-Democrat, Pelosi to return God to the commanding heights of rulership in the United States? Will he purge himself of his sinful, un-Christian position on abortion, homosexuality and related issues? Unless he does these, as I once said in this column, no matter how brilliant his economic team is, no matter how otherwise efficacious the policies, they will fail in Sodom and Gomorrah society he would have helped to sustain and strengthen.
Now, to all Obamites, you know what to pray. I am with you. (Concluded)
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