|
 Anyone watching the coverage of Barak Obama’s US Election victory could not fail to be moved by the genuine outpouring of joy and enthusiasm that accompanied the result.
Millions of Americans, angry at the state of the economy, angry at the inequality that exists in their nation and angry at American foreign policy have delivered a stinging rebuttal of the politics of George W Bush, John McCain and the Republican Party.
The electorate have rejected the pro-war, pro big business agenda of Bush and the neo-conservatives who have been in charge of the country and have been attracted to the idea of the “Change” that Obama and The Democratic Party campaigned for. The result took on an even more historic significance due to the colour of Barack Obama’s skin. Few would have believed, even until relatively recently, that a virtually unknown African American Senator, not yet having served a full term in office, could be elected as the 44th President of The United States. In his thank you speech in Chicago, Obama thanked his campaign team and his party workers for helping deliver this stunning victory. Yet he also acknowledged the truth of the matter is the campaign to get the first black American President elected started much, much earlier. The path to power was paved by the struggle of millions from the self-organisation of slaves through to campaigners against the discriminatory Jim Crow laws. From Dr Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, and the Civil Rights Movement through to Malcolm X and the Black Panthers, generations of activists have fought, and in many cases given their lives in order to facilitate the change in American society that led to Obama’s election. The emotion visible on the faces of so many is testament to what it means to have an African American family in the White House. | |
We in Solidarity acknowledge the historic nature of the result. We welcome the fact that a seismic shift has taken place in a country where only a few decades ago defacto apartheid existed in some states. We recognise that for millions of ordinary people across America and the world Obama appears to offer a new direction away from the hated and discredited politics of George W Bush and his big business neo con cabal. We realise that those who voted for change in their droves did so in the belief that Obama could find solutions to their problems. Those problems are many. The global economic crisis, home repossessions, low wages, unemployment, inequality and (despite Obama’s election) the real problem of racism and division. There is also the matter of American foreign policy and the catastrophic occupations of both Iraq and Afghanistan. Those who were re-enfranchised, re-engaged and re-energised by the campaign for Obama will demand real change in their lives but, are The Democrats the party to deliver what they need? Despite record donations from ordinary working class people, the majority of the money for Obama’s campaign came from big business and corporate backers. It is those same backers who will demand a return on their investment in Obama. They will oppose higher wages, improvements in healthcare and welfare reforms. It remains to be see who will have the biggest pull on Obama; corporate America or the masses who propelled him to power. The previous Democratic administration of Bill Clinton generated a similar wave of hope and optimism but much like in Britain following Tony Blair’s election, the gap between rich and poor, the haves and the have nots increased to record levels. We believe therefore that in order to find a solution to these problems a new type of party has to be built in America. We in Solidarity will continue to argue for a socialist solution to the problems faced by the ordinary peoples of America and the world. We will continue to work with socialist and progressive forces where ever they exist in order to build alternative forces capable of making real change in the lives of many rather than the few, where we will put people before profit and keep campaigning for an end to wars of conquest and occupation. Nevertheless, the climbing of a mountain begins with a single step, and yesterday American politics took a mighty leap forward. November 5th 2008 will be remembered as a day when we all awoke to a more hopeful world. |
Events Calendar
