By Bruce Bialosky
Monday, November 05, 2012
Every American who isn’t a zealous adherent of Barack
Obama has a favorite reason why this President is a failure; God knows, there
are certainly enough reasons to choose from. But there is one shortcoming that
is, in the long run, the most significant – and regrettably so, because Obama
is uniquely qualified, and could have vastly improved America as a whole, had
he addressed the issue. It is to have confronted the destruction of the Black
family that has been the hallmark of the Black underclass for the last 40
years. Yet as he approaches the end of his Presidency, he has done virtually
nothing.
When he was elected, Mr. Obama was celebrated by many
Americans for two historic and important qualities. First, he was perceived as
an important symbol that represented America’s triumph over the era in our
history when Blacks were treated as second-class citizens. There’s no doubt
that America has nurtured and given opportunity to exceptional Black minds,
including the two outstanding Black Secretaries of State who served under
President Bush. But never before had a predominantly white country elected a
Black man as its leader, and especially a country that had been so painfully
tested by racial strife. Second, he set a shining example of the modern, stable
Black family. He and his wife and their two beautiful children were – and
continue to be – a model for all to aspire.
Paul Tough interviewed President Obama for an article
that was recently published in the New York Times Sunday Magazine. The column,
titled “What Does Obama Really Believe In?” was a precursor to his newly-released
book, How Children Succeed. Mr. Tough observed that Obama has abandoned
speaking about the poor, pointing out that “Obama hasn’t made a single speech
about poverty as President, and if you visit barackobama.com these days, you
would be hard-pressed to find any reference to the subject whatsoever.” If he
doesn’t talk about poverty, then he doesn’t address its root causes, which in
the Black community are closely tied to the lack of family structure and the
absence of fathers. Obama would be the perfect person to lead a cultural
revolution on this issue; but, like the fathers themselves, he has been
conspicuously absent.
Mr. Tough’s book focuses on the educational challenges
that exist today and how to overcome them. His research concludes that
parenting is critically important to the success of children, and that “parents
and other caregivers who are able to form close, nurturing relationships with
their children can foster resilience in them that protects from many of the
worst effects of a harsh early environment.” He goes on to state that “The
effect of good parenting is not just emotional or psychological, the neuroscientists
say; It is biochemical. “ In addition, the book also emphasizes the importance
of character development to the success of a child.
Former Congressman Kweisi Mfume, former head of the
NAACP, was asked by radio host and author Larry Elder “Between the presence of
white racism, and the absence of black fathers, which is the bigger problem?”
Mfume’s answer was simple: fathers. Unfortunately, Obama has been invisible in
the fight to establish stronger families in Black America. You have not seen
him speaking from the pulpit of a church, expressing the vital importance of
taking responsibility for one’s children, and stressing the basic principle
that without solid, positive parenting, children are most likely doomed. Obama
understands this as well as anyone, yet there is hardly an utterance from our
first Black president on the crisis that endangers not only Black America, but
all Americans.
In his column, Mr. Tough mentioned that in 2007, Obama
acknowledged that “changing the odds in our cities will require humility in
what we can accomplish and patience with our progress.” Obama stated that real
change would take more than that and then added “Most importantly, it will
require the sustained commitment of the President of the United States.” And
yet when I asked Mr. Tough whether Obama had addressed the issues of parenting
and character in the Black community, he admitted with much regret that Mr.
Obama had barely worked on the issue.
Despite the immense hope for this President when he took
the oath of office, no one expected him to single-handedly heal the problems of
the family structure and education within the Black community. But even in his
own words, he knew that he had to undertake the challenge with a sustained
effort. Unfortunately and sadly, our President has spent more time golfing than
tackling this problem.
What a loss for our country. What a failure.
No comments:
Post a Comment