Congratulations to Americans for setting another outstanding precedent. It is a remarkable achievement for a nation that 230 years ago was founded on a slave economy, and which Africans like Obama's ancestors, were kidnapped from their land and forced to work against their will.
The American history is one that tries ceaselessly to perfect itself. Its Founding Fathers disenfranchised women and blacks ― blacks worth only three fifths of a person. It was in the 1960s and through JFK and LBJ that blacks began to gain full rights.
For what purpose is a reminder of this unhappy chapter of American history when Obama's victory has healed the wounds?
Some elated Americans argue that Obama's victory has brought closure to a proposition made by Lincoln at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, about the advancement of the ``unfinished work'' by the Union's victory over the Confederates. Others claim that Obama represents the consummation of Rev. King's dream for equality for black Americans.
This festive mood is understandable, considering the current plight America faces. It has driven the global economy into the ground, waged two wars ― one justified and the other based on a personal vendetta ― and acted as if it were a chosen people by divine oracle. Obama may be an outlet for Americans' frustration, helping them feel good about themselves once again.
Bring a cool head to this elation, however, and it is plain to see that Obama's victory is not wholesome and accounts for three fifths of the whole, two fifths short. Out of the remaining two fifths, one is for Americans to fulfill and the other for Obama.
Christ Almighty. In the title and throughout the piece he's refering to the Three-fifths compromise of 1793, by which slaves were counted as 3/5ths of a person for the purposes of taxes and representation. He closes by reminding the President-elect that he has a duty not only to his citizens but also to the world. I get that the US is a big, important country and stuff, and needs to be mindful of its global influence, but it bears repeating that he isn't President of the World, and doesn't have to act with South Korea's, or any other country's, best interests in mind. I have a feeling this protectionist-slash-FTA guilt-trip is just getting started.
Being myopic and going after a narrow self-interest is a tempting proposition, but in today's globalized world however, making the same mistake would prove even more costly.
2 comments:
I thought Obama's "ancestors" were Kenyan, not former American slaves.
I think the writer means that Africans comma like Obama's ancestors from Kenya comma were taken as slaves.
I really dislike the "you don't understand our culture" line as thrown around by Koreans, so I won't use it here, but . . . yeah, you get the idea.
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