Why We Shall Overcome ….

American did not change after 9/11; the people who run the government did. This is why November 4th is going to feel like a new day. There are people who did not believe in change, but they are singing another tune now, “Obama, Obama” and chanting “Yes we can,” which is actually the modern equivalent of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “We Shall Overcome.”

[On The Spot: Election 2008]

“I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today – my own government.”— April 4th, 1967, A Time To Break The Silence, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The United States of America has lost the respect of countries around the world.  

The selected few who have literally run the USA into the ground are trying their best to keep control of the many – the voters. Yet, over eight millions African Americans were not even registered to vote as of October 10, when many states had their deadline.

I stated back in November 2007 that before this presidential race comes to an end – it will turn into a race-race.  Senator Barack Obama is clearly the better candidate for the White House – but because of his race, some in the Democratic Party, calling themselves “Reagan Democrats,” wanted to cross over to vote for Senator John McCain.  Now that is modern day racism at its best.

Anyone who has been really paying close attention to the last two debates know Obama’s and McCain’s policies are very different.  McCain’s policies will be a continuation of George Bush’s eight years – and the USA cannot take four more years of the same administration we now have in place simply because they are operating under different names.

For the too many, who are still undecided – after the Wall Street mess, which has a lasting effect on an already troubled economic crisis – those people need to debate within their own mind to find out what is really stopping them from facing the truth.  McCain is not that convincing or persuasive, what with people like former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani as one of his close advisors – another reason to call for alarm.

Witness the blatant disrespect we are witnessing from McCain and his dismal Vice-Presidential pick Sarah Palin. During a moment in the debate, McCain referred to Obama as, “That one there.” In his mind, he may have wanted to say, “that n-word there.”

This is how far we have come in this world.  No matter what McCain thinks of Obama, he still should show the world he respects him as a person and a senator and a serious candidate who may actually end up as our president.

But, when you run a race from behind, you say and do things out of frustration. Palin has been rehashing some old political dirt on Obama which has been used before and has never proven to hold water. However Palin chose to take the low road –obviously on orders from McCain—because it is the only road she knows. This ugly McCain-Palin strategy to incite racial animosities tapped into some lawless thinking people: someone in one of her campaign gatherings yelled out, “Kill him,” in reference to Obama. Palin and McCain never issued a statement disavowing such ugly sentiments; it’s only yesterday that McCain started backing off the ugly strategy he’s unleashed.

An elderly woman at one of McCain’s gatherings had said she was afraid of Obama because “he’s an Arab.” When McCain took away the microphone and assured the woman Obama was not an Arab and that he was a “decent American” and “family man” with whom they had political disagreements, many in the crowd booed McCain.

What a sad moment it was: the crowd wanted McCain not to disavow something they all knew not to be true –that Obama is an Arab; and it’s even sadder that apparently being an Arab is some sort of crime— and McCain himself seemed surprised by the episode.

The chickens coming home to roost; he is now reaping the fruits of the hatred he and his running mate sowed.

In terms of the second debate itself, I watched it with some young people who are very clear as to whom they are going to be voting for on November 4th.  “Look how he just stood there to answer the question the Black guy asked him. He didn’t even want to look him in the eyes,” observed Lester J.  “I’m happy to be voting for a Black president for the first time.”

Another viewer noted that McCain seemed more relaxed when he answered questions from Whites. “He walked right up to where one lady was sitting and was looking directly at her when he answered her question. Then on another question asked by a White guy, McCain patted him on the back and shook his hand just because he asked him a question about Israel,” said Montel W.

There are a lot of young people who are first-time voters and so energized – they are talking as if they can wait to vote.  But we have to keep in mind the results of the last two presidential elections. The last two elections have not been investigated nor have there been any real protective measures put in place by the Board of Elections to prevent the past from reoccurring at the polls.
There needs to be notices sent over the television and internet to police agencies, and known hate groups – if you are caught tampering with the election or preventing anyone from casting a vote, you will be arrested.  

From the start of his campaign, Obama called for unity – asking all Americans to come together for a common cause. “We are not just red states and blue states; we are the United States of America,” Obama has said. Those were not just words – that was reality.  For decades we as Americans have been tricked into believing we can grow as a nation being separate and unequal, while the rest of the world grows and surpasses us on human issues so embedded in our own constitution.    

Since September 11, 2001, we have lost many of our civil liberties and everywhere you go it feels as if you are in a foreign country.  The Patriot Act is an act against the very people who believe in freedom, and who believe in having the right to petition the government, rally, free speech, press, to bear arms and to vote.  

American did not change after 9/11; the people who run the government did. This is why November 4th is going to feel like a new day.  There are people who did not believe in change, but they are singing another tune now, “Obama, Obama” and chanting “Yes we can,” which is actually the modern equivalent of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “We Shall Overcome.”

Young people are so fired up.  I got an email message showing a young man with an interesting hair cut; he had the image of Obama carved onto the back of his head.

This is real. Make sure your vote is cast and counted.

Give peace a chance.  

Contact Winkfield if you have a serious story or expose for his column. (347) 632-2272 or On The Spot, Post Office Box 230149, Queens County 11423. Email: [email protected] or [email protected] or (212) 481-7745.  
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