In early 2011,
the unofficial beginning of 2012 US Presidential Campaign, Donald Trump who had
indicated his interest in running for President of the USA on a Republican
ticket, accused President Obama not meeting the natural born American requirement of the US Constitution (Article
2, Section 1) to qualify as a US presidential candidate. President Obama
responded by posting his birth certificate (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/04/28/us/politics/28obama-text.html) in the internet as unfortunately,
Mr. Trump was not the only one who questioned the President’s natural born citizenship.
The doubt about President Obama’s citizenship, even couple of years
after in office, was not the first instance of his identity being questioned.
There are
continuous debates about his “color” and his religion as well. In 2010, according to a survey conducted by Fox News, one of every five Americans thought
that President Obama is a Muslim, in spite of the fact that Mr. Obama
repeatedly confirms that he is of Christian faith (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/19/nearly-americans-thinks-obama-muslim-survey-shows/). After nearly four years in
office, having repeated over and over that he is a Christian, many people still
don’t believe that Mr. Obama is a Christian. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/figuring-faith/post/president-obamas-faith-challenge-at-the-democratic-convention/2012/09/06/ea688c80-f83c-11e1-8398-0327ab83ab91_blog.html).
The discussion
is interestingly not only indirectly about whether someone of the Muslim faith is
suitable to run for office in the United States, supposedly the country of religious tolerance, but also,
about refusing to accept a man’s word for his religious identity; meaning, the
public is defining a man as she sees fit and is ascribing him an arbitrary “undesirable”
religion. Neither Mr. McCain nor Mr. Romney’s religious identities were ever questioned.
Although, there have been discussions about whether Mr. Romney’s Mormon
religion was a “suitable” one for a President, no one ever questioned that Mr.
Romney was a Mormon.
Last but
not least, there are continuing debates over whether Mr. Obama was/is going to
be a “black President” or the President Of
The People. There are/were not many public debates about whether his
running mates Senator McCain (in 2008), Mr. Romney (in 2012) or all the other
“white men” in the past who ran the country were going to be a “white President”
or the President of the People.
Even more
ironic than the continuing public attack on President Obama’s identity is that,
on the one hand, Mr. Obama seems to be “too black” to run the country but at
the same time, the US public also wonders if President Obama is “black enough”
(http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1584736,00.html).
Stanley Crouch wrote in New York Daily News that “Other than color, Obama did not - does not - share a heritage with the majority of black Americans, who are descendants of plantation slaves.” (http://articles.nydailynews.com/2006-11-02/news/18339455_1_black-world-alan-keyes-people-of-african-descent).
The actor Morgan Freeman recently said that President Obama was not the first black president of the USA (http://www.npr.org/2012/07/05/156212527/morgan-freeman-no-black-president-for-u-s-yet).
Stanley Crouch wrote in New York Daily News that “Other than color, Obama did not - does not - share a heritage with the majority of black Americans, who are descendants of plantation slaves.” (http://articles.nydailynews.com/2006-11-02/news/18339455_1_black-world-alan-keyes-people-of-african-descent).
The actor Morgan Freeman recently said that President Obama was not the first black president of the USA (http://www.npr.org/2012/07/05/156212527/morgan-freeman-no-black-president-for-u-s-yet).
It may be
correct that Mr. Obama does not share a heritage with the African American
community in the USA. However, for some taxi drivers or HR managers in Kansas
City, he is a “black man.”
Among
other, the debates underline that President Obama has many traits that are
still considered questionable in the USA. His “foreign” name, his “dark skin”—
traits that limit access to opportunities, that are a sources of everyday discrimination
and injustice.
President
Obama’s biggest accomplishment shall always be that he overcame the odds
against him—his name, his “color,” his age, his perceived religion—and became
the President of the USA. One will never be able to exactly measure his
positive impact as a role model on African Americans and other minorities, but
one should remember that he has changed the course of history. As—at least in
regard to his presidency—he did overcome racism and other bigotry, along with
him, so did the country.
Because of
President Obama, at least one 8-year-old boy has found his role model in the
Oval Office. He can identify himself with this man: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/24/us/politics/indelible-image-of-a-boys-pat-on-obamas-head-hangs-in-white-house.html?_r=0 (at the time when the picture was
taken, the child was 5-years old). Maybe he too, will be President some day?
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