vedderman

Sometimes in life we are so desperate for change, that when it arrives we fail to see the realities of the situation that stands infront of us. Perspective is hard to grasp amidst the euphoria of the U.S finally ridding itself of a President who on every level was an unmitigated disaster.

In Britain we recoiled at the thought of our Prime Minister’s “special relationship” with a man who lied his way through two terms, instilled fear amongst his own nation by using the threat of terror to control, manipulate and engage in unjust wars in the middle east.

It was damning to see a President treat his own people with such disregard, as Bush pumped billions into the arms industry, sections of American society disintegrated. The ruling elite in America have very little sympathy for the working classes, they are there to provided the criminally cheap labour that props up their extreme form of capatilism. Single mothers work two jobs to provide for their children yet still cannot afford medical insurance. People talk of the American dream, but for many the dream has turned into a nightmare. It has become an unforgiving dog eat dog  society, people no longer ‘love thy Neighbour’ they look after number one and the weak are trampled under foot. It’s ironic for a country that proclaims to uphold Christian values that it is quite happy to watch its own Children go hungry and the sick denied healthcare due to their financial circumstances.

This isn’t a tirade against America, it’s an observation on how this great country has been failed by a succession of administrations. The chasm between rich and poor has never been wider. The credit crunch is a product of greed, the banks have misspent our money, they have traded recklessly. Society cannot be sustained on a tidal wave of debt and now that wave has crashed we are the ones who are having to pay it back. Again we have been failed and duped, we were sold a dream but now the dream has become a reality and the suffering begins.

So what does the future hold? The election of the first black President seems to have given not just America but the world a whole new sense of optimism. In Berlin thousands took to the streets to acclaim Obama prior to him  being elected. In Britain television celebrities bubbled and enthused with hope and expectation, a new dawn was upon us and in these dark economic times it was just the tonic that many of us needed.

Lets however try and look past all the hype, lets look past the significance of the colour of Obama’s skin and take a look at Obama the man. He is loaded with charm and charisma,  as politicians go he’s as cool as they come, the Arthur Fonzarelli of world politics. However in June of last year in a meeting with he American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) Obama  promised to support an “undivided Jerusalem” as Israel’s capital. Not one other world leader supports the Israeli annexation of Jerusalum, a policy that completely disregards the U.N resolution designating Israel an International city.

Obama has also vowed continue the crippling embargo placed on Cuba, a policy which has sustained the oppression suffered by the Cuban people  and been declared illegal by the U.N year after year. Internationally it is hoped that Obama will help to build the bridges that have been broken down by America’s imperialist policies. However whereas Obama’s policies on the surface don’t appear as crude as Bush’s, the objectives are not far apart. Obama like his predecessors is an expansionist, he has already described the elected governments of Nicuragua, Venezuela and Bolivia as a “Vacuum” that needs to be filled.

In 1997 Britain was swept up in a wave of euphoria as Tony Blair swaggered into office. We were sold the idea that it was cool to be British and and that we were witnessing a new political dawn. As it turned out “Cool Britannia” was the repackaging of the same old rubbish,America you’ve been warned.

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