Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Obama and Mandela

 Anything that causes the United States to shine less bright, and anything that causes the United States to diminish in capacity and respect is fine with them.  And this clearly does that.  It's not the handshake.  It's the overall behavior.  It's the posing for selfies, taking selfies. I mean, Christiane Amanpour calls this a warm-up act for Obama, but the fact is that's exactly how he sees this event. 

If you go back and look at Obama's two books, he barely mentions Nelson Mandela, barely mentions apartheid.  They didn't matter to him in his two autobiographies.  This is simply the latest episode to be marketed, to be used.  And that's what's happening.  And in the process of this, it's not the handshake with Raul Castro.  It's the deigning to appear to be no different than these people, no different than the thugs and the thieves and the criminals that are among the dignitaries at this event.  It's the willingness to make the United States appear no different.  And I'm just telling you, those of you who are relatively young, there was a day not too long ago where another way would have been found for the president of the United States to attend these -- I don't know what you want to call, festivities, ceremonies, memorials, what have you. 

So let me just remind you that Nelson Mandela loved Fidel Castro.  He loved Cuba.  In fact, I will read to you a quote from Mandela.  "Long live the Cuban revolution," he said, "long live comrade Fidel Castro.  Cuban internationalists have done so much for African independence, African freedom, African justice.  We admire the sacrifices of the Cuban people in maintaining their independence and sovereignty in the face of a vicious imperialist campaign designed to destroy the advances of the Cuban revolution.  We, too, want to control our destiny.  There can be no surrender.  It is a case of freedom or death.  The Cuban revolution has been a source of inspiration to all freedom-loving people."  Mandela said that back in 1991.  That was on the 38th anniversary of the start of the Cuban revolution, Friday, July 26th, 1991. 
People forget this, but do you remember the Cubans sent soldiers to Angola back in the nineties.  The nineties was a tumultuous decade for all of sub-Saharan Africa.  It wasn't for Meryl Streep.  She did a movie, Out of Africa, she had the African accent down pat pretty good, but for everybody else it was a tumultuous decade.  Now, if you're gonna sign on to the Cuban revolution, what else are you signing on to?  When Mandela speaks here of the "Cuban internationalists who have done so much for African independence and freedom and justice, and we admire the sacrifices of Cuban people in maintaining their independence and sovereignty in the face of a vicious imperialist campaign designed to destroy the revolution," he can only be talking about the United States of America there....
 The whole thing is about Obama, which is, I don't care what anybody says, a gigantic disrespect to Nelson Mandela.  Again, Mandela's name is mentioned twice in Dreams From My Father and apartheid once or twice.  It was never, Mandela nor apartheid, were not a big deal to Obama.  It was way over there. 
His grievances were all American.  His anger, his rage was all aimed at America.  Obama's not down for the civil rights struggle, and he certainly wasn't down for the apartheid struggle, but he's clearly gonna take advantage of it and insert himself in such a way as to make it look like he is single-handedly responsible for apartheid going by the wayside.  

No comments: