Wight’s Points taken but like any ism Missing Essential
Complexity
Wight takes on past and present US executives’ immigration
imprint. “When they were not responsible
for the mass slaughter of children in the Middle East with their regime change
wars, … [t]he likes of Barack Obama (the 44th US president) and Hillary Clinton
(the 44th’s Secretary of State) have, in the case of Clinton, supported mass
incarceration in the US itself, involving the forced separation of families.”
Such
people, therefore, have absolutely no standing on a “moral high ground,” Wight
charges.
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he nauseating hypocrisy of liberals excoriating the [45th) president
over the policy of separating children at the border with Mexico has been near
impossible to bear.” He was expressing his thoughts surrounding the immigration
crisis manufactured and maintained by blame throwing U.S. officials (my words).
As many writers do, Wight speaks of imperialism and suggests
that imperialism and devotion to imperialism cuts across kin, kind and color; and
razes nations and regresses peoples. Concerning the US and Latin America—but in my view the
pattern applies also to US policy and patterns regarding Africa and Asia—Wight puts
it this way:
…the development and
wealth of the United States has been contingent on the under development and
poverty of Latin America—the former impossible without the latter.
In his arguments Wight prefers to assign blame around color.
I am less inclined to pull the race/color card. Though I understand its usage
in the case of this author, I am more inclined to use the dangerously infantile
delusion of supremacy as of exceptionalism, and a variety of delusions to which
all colors of people have overtly or covertly, consciously, subconsciously or
unconsciously pledged their allegiance or sacrificed their minds.
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White supremacy has to be understood not only as a racial
construct,” Wight writes, “but also as an ideological construct.” Citing mixed alliances, he says,
During his tenure, U.S. president Barack “Obama, whether consciously or
unconsciously,” served “the purposes of
white supremacy, rooted in the very foundations of a country that was founded
and built upon the genocide and slavery of non-whites, and whose foreign and
domestic policy to this day functions along the same white supremacist lines.” The tragic fact is that Barack Obama often seemed apart from
the United States of America, removed from the actual act of U.S. leadership. Like
many in Federal Washington, he reacted and pandered.
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y view focuses on individual weakness that is the consequence of unpreparedness.
One of the great tragedies in America is that, in more than two hundred years, the citizenry
has not demanded that the constitutional qualifications for the U.S. presidency—what
is arguably the most important leadership position in the world (and also
legislative positions) — be expanded to more than sex, age, and nationality.
The “color” construct is also too narrow, as it lacks
sufficient complexity.
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oth Barack Obama and Donald Trump were elected to a position
far above their grade levels.
Their unpreparedness and incompetence rendered
them weak (it doesn’t take strength
to bomb people back to antiquity or to sell bombs to “terrorists” or autocrats)
and prey to any passing pull. Certain sectors of the United States promoted
both of these men, just as certain sectors supported Hillary Rodham Clinton. Yet
all three of these people were unprepared, without credential or relevant work
history, for the critical requirements of executive national governance and
international leadership.
In the United States, though individuals comically preach
and pretend to possess and to export democracy, the systems of elections and of
education instructing in the making of independent choices (not what choices) are
out of date and broken.
Voters, if they bother to vote, hand their votes to
candidates because of their oratory or rhetoric or because they promise
something favored by some narrow segment of the population. Would-be leaders operate
as panderers to narrow interests and in doing so they fail to serve broad national
or global interests. On a global scale these would-be leaders have preferred divisive
bilateralism, playing nations and groups against one another, over open multilateralism.
Inept, corrupt and unprincipled leadership has regressed foreign countries and also
regressed and stymied the progress of the United States of America. The status
quo is underwritten by Americans living in a fantasyland, voting for their
favorite entrenched and corrupt politician, going along with a broken system;
instead of demanding that it be fixed.
Viewed from a broad perspective, the USA
subsists in systemic failure.
The further problem with “white supremacy,” “white
supremacist,” “racist,” “racism”—hurled by “shock jocks,” blared from headlines
(Twitter accounts, Posts and CNNs) and spewed from atop Confederacy-era statues—is
that these outbursts, often self-serving pageantries in distraction, solve no
problems.
They don’t feed American youth
hungry for crumbs of quality education, life, liberty and livelihood. They don’t
serve peoples of the world in need of clean water, sanitation facilities, their
own doctors and disease prevention; ultimately, self- determination.
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lame throwers R us?
“White supremacist” and “racist” invectives inflame. They divide.
They deepen and spread impenetrable anger and resistance all round. Yes, anger
is a proper human emotion—absolutely!
But anger aged into bitterness impairs the mind, the spirit,
the body, and the capacity for healthy human relations characterized by civility,
equality of exchanges, respectful communication and conversation, honorable
debate, facility for active listening and learning.
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itterness breaks relations and mends no bridges.
Americans generally
suffer a great sickness of delusion and politicians’ rhetoric deliberately feeds,
massages, takes advantage of Americans’ state of delusion. Despite public
officials’ endemic corruption and the maintenance of a flawed and undemocratic
system—their entrenchment handcuffed to the status quo is sold to and paid for
by private partners; and further aided by a divided, apathetic, and careless
citizenry.
Sources
Sputnik International John Wight (columnist) June 25, 2018 “America’s
Problem is Not Immigration. America’s Problem is White Supremacy” https://sputniknews.com/columnists/201806251065767940-us-problem-not-immigration/
Hard Facts aired at Sputnik International John Wight June
27, 2018 “Mass Migration, White Supremacy and The Sanctimony of Liberal America”
https://sputniknews.com/radio_hard_facts/201806271065821902-immigration-white-supremacy-trump-liberal-america/
In Sputnik News, John Wight is profiled as “a writer and
political commentator whose articles have appeared in a variety of publications”
and whose broadcast interviews and analysis can be heard on several news
outlets. He anchors a “topical weekly radio show, Hard Facts, at Sputnik.” https://sputniknews.com/authors/john_wight/
Insight Beyond Today’s News, CLB
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