CNN covered the President’s town hall meeting on health care reform in Colorado Saturday the 15th. When it was over, a CNN anchor began interviewing attendees. The anchor was black; those interviewed were a white middle aged white man and a white woman with similar credentials.
When asked how he thought the meeting went, the white man said he thought it went very well because the President was out here with “real Americans.” The CNN anchor firmly if not emotionally made the point that “we are ALL Americans.”
This exchange points to a troubling fault line growing in the crust of the American psyche. Because America is becoming more ethnically and culturally diverse, the question of what constitutes “true Americans” is changing. Sadly, many Americans ignore this – and at their peril.
How you view yourself is a critical factor in your behavior. The President is perhaps insecure – the reason he keeps saying “I am the President.” But is he going camping in the wilds of the national parks out west OR is the tony trip to Martha’s Vineyard still on? Mr. Obama may be President, but the citizenry can help him change his mind.
The middle aged middle class man who uttered the phrase “true Americans” during the CNN interview cited above, did so with a naive confidence and without benefit of a broader view of who Americans are today who do not share his views. He also hints at a self image that is also defensive – tainted with a fear that the culture and world view of European Americana are vanishing from the very place where their ancestors laid the foundation for the most powerful country known.
In the case of many black Americans, their self image stretches back to the dark era of slavery. For them, the election of Barack Obama does not erase decades of brutal enslavement. They are very vocal to make you understand that they have long pent up demands. Among them, they want every one of them covered under a universal health care system. For that reason, they will not be satisfied unless there is single payer health care. They also are pushing for reparations for the enslavement of their ancestors. To achieve this end in the America of today, they will have to garner the support of Chinese and Hispanic voters and others whose people have been removed from the history of US slavery. As you will see below, measures are underway that may make this possible via the union of caucuses in Congress.
Hispanics have their own battles with identity. The legal Hispanic residents see themselves as American and the illegals among them hold the same view. Together, they are pressuring Congress and the Administration for amnesty for illegals. Medical care is one of their big concerns. It is not an ideal situation to have as large a group of medically untreated people within our borders. To keep an entire population healthy, all must have good medical care. Other Americans need to consider this. Hispanics therefore want both to be citizens and to participate in some kind of medical coverage. Hispanics and blacks have the most to lose if universal health care does not become a reality.
In April, four Congressional caucuses joined in petitioning the White House regarding health care:
the Progressive Caucus (CPC), the Black Caucus (CBC), the Hispanic Caucus (CHC), and the Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC)
Together, one hundred seventeen Members of the House and Senate belong to at least one of these four congressional caucuses. Hence, their unity in pushing for inclusion of a public health insurance plan like Medicare as part of comprehensive health care reform legislation is a formidable development in the unfolding policy debate inside and outside of Congress.
So in the above instance, 4 ethnic groups saw themselves as sharing common ground in the push for a political end. This may not be the last time these groups join in advocacy for legislative action.
The longer the national debate drags on over health care reform, positions on the issue that pretty much follow ethnic lines will become more entrenched. Many in the European community believe that many reform proposals are part of a government takeover of a sector that under the Constitution legally should be in the purview of the states.
The end result of of the aforementioned will result in a deeply divided nation. Under these circumstances we need to be concerned that we don’t reach a flash point.
It has been many of the President’s own words and actions that have inflamed many Americans. In the past 6 months he has pointedly and aggressively fought for the passage of legislation that will bring some kinds of change not thought of during his campaign for “change.” And in other public matters such as the Gates affair, he, as an attorney, has ignored the law and legal precedent in commenting on a case under active investigation. So yes, the president, always studied in his moves, really knows how to build fires but he thinks he also knows how to put them out – witness these trips west for town meetings in the past 10 days. These are unprecedented trips – firefighting trips. Time will tell.
Postscript:
Oh, and that middle class, middle aged white man interviewed by CNN? You needs to let your “people” know – they need to join a caucus! Meanwhile President Obama – have fun building campfires in the national parks out there. But please don’t tell Smokey the Bear what to do. Remember, “you don’t pull on Superman’s Cape…” There are some things you just can’t change.
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/04/28-25
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-314416
karmahd
August 16, 2009
Well designed passionate post, informative, and pragmatic. very well written SH
samhenry
August 16, 2009
Thank you very much, Karm. As you know, your opinion matters to the ole dawg.