“...Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us, Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, Let us march on till victory is won...”The Negro national anthem

Its Tuesday the 20th Jan 2009, 7 PM in SA i have just rushed through gym to watch history being made. I am so excited mind you the country of my birth just had its inauguration a few weeks earlier and to be honest i only got parts of his inauguration speech from the net and to be honest i wasn’t too phased about the rest of it. We have presidential elections in SA in a little over 2 months and I am so not as excited about the potential of a new president as I was about the whole US presidential race. I think I wrote about Barrack Obama last year or the year before, followed the Democratic Party election and the whole American election process like my life depended on it. This one man has managed to get the whole world not just Americans interested and not only interested but I guess you could say fanatical about America. It’s not only because his predecessor was so bad or that the US and world economy is in such a frail state, but I guess because the man speaks with what seems as such sincerity and conviction in his words.

His speech was moving, for me it wasn’t the words (because it was nothing new, but rather a summary and redelivery of all his ideals which took him to the mountain top) but the delivery and its impact on the hundreds of thousands who braved the cold to witness it live. I won’t lie i had a , tear in my eye particularly when the camera panned to the crowd.

He is such an inspirational figure, President Obama, but I am not impressed by him purely because he is a person of colour who has managed to bring together all the people of America...the world... uh huh, for me he represents hope. But let me explain. Here is a guy, abandoned by his father, in a way abandoned by his mother too, through circumstances, because she stayed in Indonesia (or was it Hawaii?? i think both I forget) with her new husband and he was raised by his grandparents. His parents or grandparents weren’t wealthy. This is the story of many an African American, a lot of whom quite frankly amount to not too much if at all that. And here is this guy, who through his convictions and application of mind and self, worked his way from absolutely nothing to the highest office in the land and some might even go as far as saying the world. Mind you in America, to become president you have to overcome many a challenge. All because he firstly believed he could and more importantly put his back into it and made it happen. I don’t know the man but from what i read, went through some pretty tough times but stayed true to the cause...true to his course...true to himself (well most times)...In my mind he represents what is good and pure about a person elected by those around him to serve and lead. Big up and maximum respect to him. I hope by the grace of the his creator, he is guided and protected and all the good that he speaks gets put to action, because I must be honest, all through the inauguration, I was waiting for that red dot to appear and I know I wasn’t the only one. Many an American who had tried to bring on change has met the same fate, Abraham Lincoln, JFK, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King jnr, 2Pac...all assassinated (2Pac was a joke by the way)...

Lets not fool ourselves he has a tough task ahead of him.

Further foolishness would be to think that he is going to make much of a difference in your life or mine. I must be honest, his silence over Gaza did concern me slightly, it made me think is this a sign of possibly be more of the same...in the words of the Thai people...Same Same but different. I don’t think so. I think in certain situations, silence, even though it may be perceived in the wrong light by a few, is the best option in the long run...but once again time will tell.

The man will do some good in his country (thats not too difficult given the current situation) and perhaps in the world, but on this continent let us not start even begin to think that the messiah has come. No one can help you if you hate another because he is different to you. No one can help you if you believe a life is worth a cellphone. No one can help you if you are too lazy to get off your bottom and do some hard work to earn your keep. No one can help you if you feel you are entitled to something. People are dying, my country is rich in resources that can be used to feed the hungry, educate those that thirst for knowledge, provide jobs for those with families to feed, but nooo, we’d much rather spend money on arms and ammunition, maim and kill innocent people, who are just trying to make ends meet. Rule by fear...no one can help you boss. No one can help you if in your mind’s eye all you seek is to abuse your position of power to amass personal wealth at the expense of those who put their trust in you and the promise that you preached of a better life. Yip, that’s Africa’s plight. Till we change our ways, our thinking, our mindsets we will stay exactly where we are till kingdom come. No one can help you but you. You believe that its ok to kill thousands of innocent people because you might get one or 2 bad guys amongst them, well no one can help you. If you believe that you can strap C4 to yourself and kill thousands of random people many of whom may even potentially believe in your cause, all in the name of some god (clearly not the Islamic, Jewish or Christian God as I understand it) then my friend no one can help you.

When the day comes that we as a people are ready to see the error of our ways and depart from it and seek a better way of life and life for ourselves only then can we see a difference. Only then can we be helped. I read a quote the other day and it said only an idiot keeps doing the same thing the same way and expects a different result. Till the day comes that we all realise that we are truly are all the same and that we need each other to make this continent of ours a better place. Until the day comes when its less about what’s in it for me and more about I gain yes, but now how do i assist my fallen compatriot...until then this place is, pardon my French F**ked!!

“and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself” – Barack Obama

It begs the question, so you Yaw what are you doing? And my honest answer I guess, is doing what Africans do best...talking!!! But more will happen, that’s my promise to myself!!!

Birthdays
18th Graeme Hunter
19th Priya
21th Chris de Coning, Clayton S
22nd Munier
24th Karabo

Maximum respect and one love. Enjoy the rest of your week!!

Y