A Wasted Opportunity

President Obama's single greatest failure is his lack of leadership on fixing the broken black community

By Daniel Tetzlaff

May 8, 2012

Race relations in America have come a long way since the 1950's, and have been completely transformed from what they were when this country was founded over 200 years ago. For the most part, any remaining racism is kept private or within close circles, for any public display of racism is perhaps the biggest taboo in modern society. Institutional racism has in essence, been eradicated from our culture. While this is mostly a good thing, it does yield the continuous need for pause and caution. Anybody's political or professional career can be ended in an instant at even the misinterpretation of a statement or action as racist. This is evident as I tiptoe gingerly around the thoughts that I choose for this article, and the words that I use to express them. Further, legitimate discussion about the problems in the black culture is widely suppressed as people fear the consequences if any one word, sentence, or thought could be spun as racist. This is not just a hypothetical fear; the race card is actively played and exploited. While this helps to rid our society of institutional racism, it does nothing to lessen the racism that people hold to themselves.

It is now evident that only black people* have the power to speak about the problems in the black culture. Therefore, the following words that I offer will do no good, except to lay the groundwork for my larger point. While there are many people who do actually dislike black people because of their skin color, I maintain that the vast majority of people who harbor ill thoughts towards black people only harbor these thoughts against a particular subset of black people: those that are in gangs, are otherwise violent, come from broken homes, drop out of school, are involved with using and/or dealing drugs, fail to get a steady job, and refuse to speak or act professionally when the situation requires, etc. (This is not to say that other races don't have a subset of their populations with these or similar problems.) Accurate or not, that is how an extremely large portion of the black population is perceived.

            *If the term "black people" is offensive, please see my previous comments about tip-toeing around the words that I choose. The most politically-correct term changes every few years, so please pardon me if I am behind the curve.
 

Of the aforementioned problems, many of them are interconnected. First and foremost, a larger and larger percentage of black children are growing up in single-parent households, usually being raised by their mother. These children are being raised without a father figure and often with no moral compass whatsoever. It is no surprise that these children are more likely to drop out of school and be unemployable, which leads to more poverty, crime, and drug use. The problem is compounded when these children grow up to have their own children. After a few generations, the concepts of fathering, education, and work ethic have become increasingly foreign. One can feel sympathy for these 2nd and 3rd (etc.) generation children, who may simply "not know" of any other way of life. And as I mentioned above, serious discussion of these problems is suppressed, and there are very few black leaders who try to speak up and change this culture. If a black politician does actually suggest that the problem might be rooted in the breakdown of the black family, he is more-often-than-not a (rare) black Republican who will be (1) ostracized, and (2) much worse: ignored. Democrats, on the other hand, believe that all of the problems can be fixed by more and more government, by more and more welfare and handouts. (60 years and trillions of dollars later, the problem is only getting worse.)

These problems cannot be fixed through legislation, by either Democrats or Republicans. These problems cannot be fixed by simply handing out more money or by handing out less money. Fixing these problems will require a monumental shift in the foundation and attitude of the black culture itself. And, alas, America finally had a chance to begin to solve these problems. It was only four short years ago, when the Great Uniter burst onto the political scene, took America by storm, and promised to bring everyone together. Barack Obama was elected president of the United States in a landslide. To be sure, the election of a black man as president was not enough -- nor should it have been enough -- to solve racism or the failings of the black culture. But for the first time ever, America had as its leader a black man, and better: a black Democrat; that is, someone that could speak to the troubled black youth and troubled black parents without being ridiculed or ignored. Finally, a true role model... someone they would listen to and look up to. Granted, it would not be a simple task for the president, but no one has ever been in a better position to help turn the tide. With his landslide victory, he had unparalleled potential -- and perhaps unparalleled responsibility -- to enact change.

President Obama could have talked directly to the troubled youth and told them that America is the greatest country in the world, that America offers them opportunity unrivaled in any other country, at any other time in history, on earth. That given the framework now in place, all it takes to succeed is their dreams, desire, determination, and effort. He could have been direct with them and told them that education is paramount, family is rewarding, and poverty is destroyed by both. He could have told them that while they are free to succeed, they are also free to fail, and that if they do not make an effort, they will necessarily fail. He could have told them that drugs and violence are antithetical to future, lifelong success and prosperity. Some people have been trying to convey this message for decades, but the message is always ignored. This message, however, could finally have gotten through, if only it came directly from President Obama himself, in an honest, passionate attempt at change.

What did the president choose to do instead? Nothing. Nothing different, anyway, from every previous powerful Democrat. So why has President Obama not acted?

            Perhaps it is because he truly believes that the problem is rooted in a lack of government funding, oversight, and control. But he could have pushed for more anti-poverty money while still using his power and persuasion to verbally advocate for a change in the black culture. I don't recall that ever happening.

            Maybe he was too busy with the other facets of his domestic agenda (stimulus, bailouts, Obamacare, jobs) or his foreign policy agenda. I don't buy that argument, either. The president has enough support, staff, and and even time to tackle anything that he truly prioritizes.

This leaves a few possibilities, ranging from scary, to nefarious, to sad:

            (1) that he feels the problem is so severe that it is irreparable, hopeless, and cannot be changed,

            (2) that he has an expressed interest in keeping black people where they are now (that is, voting over 90% for Democrats), or

            (3) that he just does not care.

I do not know the true reason why President Obama has not even tried to lead on this issue and improve the quality of life for the millions of black children, parents, and families that are in desperate need of true help, hope, and change. I do know, however, that it will likely be a very long time before another black leader will be able to speak with such authority and with such possibility. In the meantime, more and more black children will grow up without even realizing the potential that this great country offers. Additionally, President Obama's failure to lead on this matter will only serve to further tax our budgets, degrade race relations, and tear at the very character of our country. The Great Uniter has done nothing to unite us, and is instead only driving our cultures further apart. In fact, when President Obama does decide to speak on issues of race, his only purpose and effect is to fans the flames. For example, the two most prominent commentaries offered by the president are that the "police acted stupidly" and that "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon." These ignorant remarks did not help either situation. Instead, the president wanted to assign blame -- based on race -- without understanding the details of either situation.

Had President Obama truly advocated for the repair of the black community, it would have been politically popular and one of his greatest legacies. Instead, he will forever be remembered as simply the First Black President… and not the first president to help (modern-day) blacks. He could have been remembered as both. Such a wasted opportunity.

President Obama has done a lot of things that have been bad for our country, from the unpopular Obamacare to massively increasing our country's debt. But when you consider all of the long-term ramifications and how they will affect the future of this country, his single greatest failure, given the unprecedented potential he once had, is his lack of leadership on fixing the broken black community.

Originally Posted at: http://www.makemyphotoghost.com/public/blog/2012/wasted/