Obama and Power

[illinoisprogressive]

A diarist on Daily Kos has a very interesting argument about Power, how it is using polarization to divide us and why and Obama's observations on it and why is speaking about ending it.
I have only excerpted a portion of it but, I do urge you to read the full diary:



In order to understand why ending distracting divisiveness is important, it is first important to understand why such divisiveness is so awful to begin with.

Such divisiveness is not bad because it causes angst in people or makes life in Washington D.C. less pleasant.

It is harmful and toxic because it is a tool used by the powerful and wealthy to thwart meaningful social change.

Obama writes in his memoirs Dreams From My Father how he learned about power while growing up:

Power. The word fixed in my mother's mind like a curse. In America, it had generally remained hidden from view until you dug beneath the surface of things; until you visited an Indian reservation or spoke to a black person whose trust you had earned. But here power was undisguised, indiscriminate, naked, always fresh in the memory. Power had taken Lolo and yanked him back into line just when he thought he'd escaped, making him feel its weight, letting him know that his life wasn't his own. That's how things were; you couldn't change it, you could just live by the rules, so simple once you learned them. And so Lolo made his peace with power . . .

pp. 45-46 (emphasis in original)

Obama also learned about power from his father's story:

"Most of the Old Man's friends just kept queit and learned to live with the situation. But the Old Man began to speak up. He would tell people that tribalism was going to ruin the country and that unqualified men were taking the best jobs. His friends tried to warn him about saying such things in public, but he didn't care. He walys thought he knew what was best, you see. . . . Word got back to Kenyatta that the Old Man was a troublemaker and he was called in to see the president. According to the stories, Kenyatta said to the old man that, because he could not keep his mouth shut, he would not work again until he had no shoes on his feet.

"I don't know how much of these details are true, BUt I know that with the president as an enemy things became very bad for the Old Man. He was banished from the government--blacklisted. None of the ministries would give him work. When he went to foreign companies to look for a post, the companies were warned not to hire him. He gan looking abroad and was hired to work for the African Development Bank in Addis Ababa, but before he could join them, the government revoked his passport, and he couldn't even leave Kenya.

pp. 214-215

and as a community activist

"It's going to take a while to rebuild manufacturing out here," he said. "Ten years, minimum. But, once we get the unions involved, we'll have a base to negotiate from. In the meantime, we just need to stop the hemorrhage and give people some short-term victories. Somthing to show people how much power they have once they stop fighting each other and start going after the real enemy."

"And who's that"

Marty shrugged. "The investment bankers. The politicians. The fat cat lobbyists."

p. 150 (emphasis added)

At this point, it may be unclear what the link between divisiveness and power is. To make that more clear, I will bring in the analysis from John Gaventa, an esteemed author who did groundbreaking analysis and community organizing work while working the the poor of Appalachia.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/7/10/95520/7848

[Colobo]

Gobama!

[Colobo]

1. Gobama!

[illinoisprogressive]

2. I was amazed by the diary. the argument is solid.