The questioning of authority is the bedrock of our system of government, and thus, if our system of ideals. Cornell West stated in a recent interview, "Real hope is grounded in a particularly messy struggle." And in this new age of hope, of "Yes we can," of a retreat of the forces of destruction in our government, a new breed begins to take hold; a new breed taken from the same mold as the old breed, differing in color more than substance and interest, red to blue, white to black, greed is still exemplified by the same innate characteristics. A recycling of the Clintonian-era; are there not new, more capable minds, deserving of positions of power in this new era of government? Why are the same faces, the same names, the same entrenched interests, being dug up, propped up, again and again? Is this the change that we bargained and hoped and voted for?
West continued, "We must move from symbol to substance." We must move from the symbol of change, the symbol of a new era, to actually implementing this change and what this means for the country; we must resist the temptation to backslide, to give in to the same vested, entrenched interests that have so badly damaged this country and economy over the last number of years, who have created the bipolar social atmosphere which has the capability of igniting if not smothered with the decency demanded November 4th.
Is this the continuation of the Empire? Is this the continuation of American hegemony? Is the the continued grasping for a unipolar world, ignorant of the realities of the geopolitical realm? Is this the desperation of the vested interests and military-industrial complex as their global influence, and thus, life blood, diminishes?
Obama has been rumored to have picked Eric Holden to be his new Attorney General; Holden, a Clinton holdover, is also a manifestation of the corporate interests of the United States and their historical and continuing repression of indigenous and impovershed cultures and communities around the globe. He has recently been defending one of the worst human rights violating US companies, Chiquita, in its lawsuit against Columbian working familes who have been targeted by death squads, funded by the fruit company. This follows in a long line of US imperialism and malevolence in the region, fueled by the agricultural interests of our large fruit growers, think: The United Fruit Company and the overthrow of two central american countries, and the propping up of the "Banana Republics" of the region for decades.
Lets hope Obama really does represent the change promised; lets hope new minds can be brought to the forefront; lets hope we can learn from the mistakes of the past, and move forward, not backwards, into the future.
"You cant lead the people if you dont love the people. You cant save the people if you wont serve the people."
-Cornell West
