Is he just Al Jolson? Let us all wear blackface.
The election of Barack Obama is no more than a welcome cosmetic change in the American government. By continuing Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense, Obama guaranteed that it will remain a corporate-military nation.
The "change" is "no change at all". If anything, his attitude toward abortion is alarmingly accepting of it and our reaction to life.
But it is a positive cosmetic change, and I saw the eyes of Jesse Jackson moist with tears receiving the news of Obama's election. A radical friend said, "The civil war is finally over".
But the Pentagon is a sacred cow. No one dare touch it. Military spending is the Viagra of the Pentagon. If we cut military spending by ninety percent, we'd still have the largest military force on earth. Are we expecting invasion from another planet?
The answer is that so many corporations are entrenched in the military system! General Electric, for instance, is a major defense contractor. They are almost a part of the military complex by their very nature.
I have little opinion about economics except that we should be tolerant of different views. A benevolent capitalism as suggested by Bill Gates recently in a news magazine wouldn't especially bother me. But our preponderant military presence around the globe is uncalled for. I know the graph of military spending and economic recovery in the thirties parallel each other, as do our fearless leaders. Are we saying that "we're going to be prosperous, even if we have to kill some people?"
I am convince that other kinds of exploits and expenditures than war would stimulate the economy as much or more...
When will there be real change? Not in this millennium.