By Final Call News
The 45th president of the United States has been sworn in and a relatively peaceful transfer of power has taken place. But the Divided State of America was clearly seen with the lack of attendance at the inauguration ceremony and literally millions who took to streets to protest the tenure of President Donald John Trump.
It’s unsurprising that the protests, which included some running battles Jan. 20 between police and some demonstrators, captured public and media attention. They were symbolic of how visceral the response is to the new president and how fractured American politics are. While Mr. Trump’s swearing-in was applauded and he was lionized by his supporters, the other side was angry and disappointed. The battle lines are being drawn and a campaign of resistance has been declared by those whose battle cry is: “Trump is not my president!”
In addition to the street battles and the deep wounds in America’s body politic, there is also the fighting between the president and the press.
When presidential spokesperson Sean Spicer railed against the media over inauguration day crowd estimates word of “alternative facts” emerged, and it was another example of the distrust and deceptiveness on both sides.
These two pillars of American democracy came together Jan. 23 for a first Spicer press conference. The interaction was much less volatile and tones more measured. But, as one CNN analyst declared afterward, the president lied during a visit to CIA headquarters the day before by saying his troubles with intelligence agencies were a media concoction. If the president lies and his spokesperson upholds lies, nothing else really matters, the analyst essentially argued.
Tension between the executive branch and the fourth estate, the free press, is not unusual. But Mr. Trump has broken much of the power of a largely unpopular media and there is almost no common agreement on what is true.
In most cases, the Trump team seems to live in an alternate reality, but there are also instances in which the media has been unfair to a highly polarizing president. Whether that relationship can become healthier remains to be seen, but given the president’s success while confronting or twittering above the media–it doesn’t appear that any honeymoon will last.
The American media, meanwhile, has eroded its own reputation by allowing itself to be cowed by previous administrations and a failure to fully challenge official narratives and push for the truth when the U.S. has gone to war. Too often the media simply swallowed the lies or the story lines of the White House, for fear of appearing too “liberal.”
These conflicting views come as America faces serious problems. If the electorate is divided, if the political leaders are at odds and if there can be no recognition and agreement on what is true, there can be little ability to meet and overcome the challenges that the country faces.
If America cannot solve her own problems, can she or will she even entertain the thought of dealing with inequities and suffering of Black people? It’s not likely.
“Donald Trump, his administration, their thoughts, their attitude and the attitude of many Whites that feel liberated by the advent of Mr. Trump–that attitude will begin to manifest greater pain and hurt for our people. No matter what he may try to do for us; an attitude has been brought to the surface by his candidacy and is one that White people have felt a loss in these last years, loss of their position of supremacy,” warned the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan in a recent exclusive interview with The Final Call.
“Now there’s a sentiment growing; they have to put the Black, the Brown, the Red back in a place that they have cut out for us. But God has in mind a better place for us but that can’t happen under a so-called integrated pathway; it can only happen when we are united and desire a land and a government of our own where we can be free, justified and equal.
“So Mr. Trump is a part of that wind and his way will signal other winds to blow on the bones. But in the end he will probably be the best news for the future of a united Black people by the attitude that is taken toward our rise,” he said.
These words from Min. Farrakhan may not bring comfort to those enamored with the America Dream and blinded by a rather sick desire to be included fully in American life. It is natural to want to be accepted, loved and respected when you have given your all to someone or something. But loving the wrong person or the wrong thing gives the wrong person or wrong thing immense power. It is power that should not be held by something or some institution that has never been shown to love you or shown to have any true regard for you. Every inch of progress made in America by Black people has required not just sweat and tears but actual blood. Blood had to be shed for simple things like the basic right to use a restroom or ride a bus and not be subjected to gross humiliation and indignity.
Every inch of Black progress in America has been met with opposition and a white lash designed to forever keep Black folk in an assigned and inferior place. Do you expect this struggle to go on forever? As Black life has always been shown to be expendable in America, why should things change now? They won’t. The lullaby of Barack Obama, a sweet song to induce sleep and a false sense of comfort, is over.
The winds of reality are here and the sooner we understand the time is at hand for our deliverance the easier our lot will be. But to continue to believe an open enemy will change is unwise and could be a fatal mistake. We should not accept an inferior position inside of America, we should strike out and begin building a new reality–starting in our neighborhoods today. What do we have to lose?
