Barack . H. Obama, the Lasting Imprint.

I may never be the President of the United States or even my country, Uganda, but I am going to die one day and when I am no longer here, my son and those that read about my name should know that President Obama & Michelle have inspired my person, a lot. I was reading Christopher Hitchens book, Mortality, a while ago and reviews of his memoir, Hitchens 22, these words really touched me a lot: “I have more than once woken up feeling like death. But nothing prepared me for the early morning in June when I came to consciousness feeling as If I were shackled to my own corpse”—he goes on to quote Saul Bellow: “Death is the dark backing that a mirror needs if we are able to see anything”. I told my surrogate mother, Tabitha Scaife, I would do this before I leave the face of the earth and she said, “Do it sonny, I believe you are very well equipped”. Ma, thanks for elevating my confidence. Love you, to Life!

I would like to go ahead  by appreciating other key people who have pushed me this far (my writing career), particularly one great author, the phenomenal C.JoyBell.C who gave me time and guided me on my 5 first Poetry Pieces two years ago and encouraged me to keep writing. Also, I want to thank J K Rowling for being an inspiration—the story about how much she has been an influence will be shared after my Historic visit to the White House. I am not going to mince words, always; let’s roll and shake the honest nest.

C.JoyBell.C: “We can’t be afraid of Change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but the if you never venture out of it, you will never know there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now maybe the very reason why you don’t have something better”

J K Rowling: “No story lives unless someone wants to listen”

At this point, we cannot afford to miss out on the most important responsibility we have as human souls. As Carl Jung once said: “One doesn’t become enlightened by imagining figures of light but by making the darkness conscious”. That is practically why I sit on the keyboard and ask God to bless me with the right words and Truth for all my human siblings. As Dr.King said: “Liberty is the right of every man to be honest, to speak and act without hypocrisy”. The modus operandi of the haters of the Obama administration has basically been hypocritical Villainy; let’s put it to bed, at once.

It is not a secret that name Obama and history are two identical twins; President Obama has set the ladder so high. I recall in 2013, while he was eulogizing the iconic Nelson Mandela he said: ‘we may never see the likes of Mandela again” but it always crosses my mind that he has earned respect that the late would be so proud to call him, my dear son Obama. This maybe the wrap-up of what I have to write about my model and inspiration, President Obama, it is one thing that I have longed to do again after the second letter I wrote post his last SOTU address on #PresidentsDay.Quickly,I will set the tone with something everyone reading this article ought to know, about President Obama and I.

BETWEEN PRESIDENT OBAMA AND I.

President Obama and I have very similar backgrounds: very humble backgrounds, apart from one—that he has made his story an inspiration to my very own. My love for President Obama intensified when I read his memoir, Dreams from my father. Like Barack, my dad died at a time when I needed him the most (I had just become a dad a year and 3 months—plus, he didn’t see me wed—physically, he will spiritually. He even didn’t get a suit at least from my sweat). I capture this story in my eulogy for our father. I am a pro-change agent and for the most part, liberal commentator: much as I lean to some moral absolutism, that said, let us roll. I have written quite a number of social media expletives and I have some readership now, I thank you all my readers, you keep me going. 

While at this let me tell you something I learned from President Obama some years ago, in his own words: “I noticed that people had begun  to listen to my ideas-it was a discovery that made me hungry for words. Words that carry a message, my opinions, support an idea”. That is a very profound statement Barack made after his involvement in the end of the Apartheid regime. There is so much happening around us that is so wrong and yet still, there is a lot to appreciate. We may never come to the realities of truth if we evade all avenues of truth…the error and the wrongs. For a while now, in my journey of activism and advocacy, I have subscribed to the beautiful words of the reknown Victor Hugo: “To rise from error to truth is kind and beautiful”. We can only do this if we don’t shrink from our clearly spelt-out responsibilities.

PRESIDENT OBAMA AT THE FOREFRONT OF  REDEFINING HISTORY.

Eight years ago, when Sen. Obama became the first elected black president of the United States, he made a very lasting record in the history of mankind---the American History and the history of the whole world. In the 2008 Presidential election campaign, as his fiery and persuasive speeches took root, Sen. Obama was referred to as: “the most dynamic political figure to grace the American stage ever since John .Kennedy”, this was a remark made by the Chicago tribunal journalist, David Mendell.The Washington Post Press writer, Wills, wrote this of President Obama during the electoral campaigns: “Obama’s speeches are a big reason he has become the Democratic Presidential nominee. His 2004 Democratic national convention speech made him a national figure. A fire-up the crowd speech in Iowa helped him win that state’s presidential caucas.His passionate speeches have attracted thousands upon thousands to his rallies”

I have made very crystal clear before, in my 2^ND  letter of gratitude to President Obama, that the speech he gave in 2004 after Dr.King’s I have a Dream remains one of the most magnetic speeches of my lifetime, thus far(I have read over 1000 great speeches, but that speech is a winner, in the same line with his wife’s 2012 DNC speech).Well, the interactions I have heard with many Americans(especially those who have never supported him) say that he hasn’t delivered on his promises: It is true and false, because for the most part, President Obama has delivered (I have quoted his achievements for the United states earlier).Again, he was very clear, while speaking in Chicago on November 4^th 2008:

“The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there. There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as President and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it’s been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand. And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn – I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too”

On the night of the 2012 DNC Convention, President Obama’s wife—the phenomenal Michelle Obama didn’t mince words when it came to re-echoing the message the husband had planted in the hearts of many (you could see that in my 2^ND letter to President Obama).I will say this again, FLOTUS Michelle smoothened the path for her husband’s second term of office (amid the very tough republican obstructionism)—again, Michelle Obama has this for the haters: “it is easier to hold unto you stereotypes and misconceptions, it makes you feel justified ignorance. That is America. So the challenge for us is; are we ready for change? “The republicans have played the worst players, trying to thwart every policy President Obama put through, but they have successfully made fools of themselves. This brings me to the very intent of this script, the Historic President Obama to Cuba: after 88 solid years, that the republicans still see as “shouldn’t have been Obama’s shot to take”. Really? Now that’s completely asinine and bonkers. December last year, 2015, I declared this year a Yes of Yes….that was after I read reviews from the magical Shonda Rhimes’ book A Year of Yes and Charles. E. Hummel’s masterpiece, The Tyranny of the Urgent. I decided to say YES and as I write this I want to categorically say that what President Obama has earned for the American people and Cuba is something that ought to have been done years ago: Dear America(though limited to some),should rather find some limp of gratitude than throw ungratefulness to this effort.

Questioning what President Obama has done as regards this historic effort in bridging the gap between the Cuban and American government automatically makes you one of the haters of Progress. Way back in 1959, Fidel Castro said: “The USA will come to talk to us when America has a black President and the world has a Latin Pope”. That has happened very well and I applaud Obama for that, read on. I want to set the tone with the very most quoted truth before I go yonder into this discussion. Charles E Hummel on Pg.1 (4) of the masterpiece, the Tyranny of the Urgent writes: “When we stop to evaluate, we realize that our dilemma goes deeper than shortage of time; it is basically the problem of priorities. Hard work does not hurt us. We all know what it is to go full speed for long hours, totally involved in an important task. The resulting weariness is matched by a sense of achievement and joy”. Against the divisive and obstructionist republican agenda, as they vowed in their vow of obstructionism the day Barack took office, any sane human being should celebrate the move. Does it have to be President Obama doing this especially as he leaves office?

 The answer lies in the life of our Lord. On the night before He died, Jesus made an astonishing claim. In the great prayer of John 17 He said, "I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do (verse 4, KJV).A friend asked me the other day why President Obama waited till the last months in office, He didn’t wait, it is how things were meant to be especially with the  obstructionism of the republicans whilst the very many tasks he had on his table. Then If I can answer that question with divine wisdom, from the life of Jesus Christ we again find this unbent truth and it should apply here. He could spend hours talking to one person, such as the Samaritan woman at the well. His life showed a wonderful balance, a sense of timing. 

When His brothers wanted Him to go to Judea, He replied, “My time has not yet come” (Jn. 7:6).  Jesus did not ruin his gifts.At the Press Conference where President Obama and the Cuban President Raul Castro answered questions regarding this historic move, President Obama didn’t in any way lay claim to this just being about him, actually he emphatically said it’s about a united world—a good working relationship between Cuba and America: “I have enormous hope that this will bridge the gap”, Obama said. He went on to say: “the embargo is going to end. I am not sure when but I have faith in American people”

I can’t leave this part without making mention of the historic speech President Obama gave while in Cuba on which he commented on the Brussels terrorist attacks in Belgium and then, a speech to seal the lasting imprint. I will quote: “Si Se Puede”—Obama on fighting for a better relationship with Cuba. He earlier talked about the about to be sealed history while talking about the likelihood of a Hillary Clinton Presidency (first female POTUS, henceforth) and: the two Cuban presidential race and one socialist democrat—he went ahead to talk about Dr.King saying: “Dr.King’s Fierce Urgency of now---and he added, we should not Fear Change, we should embrace Change”. He called upon everyone to put aside their ideological banners in the past; that reminds me of the just nominated Supreme court Justice Merrick Garland whom the republicans are already trying to stop—business as usual: the republicans continue to be paralyzed by their personal vendetta and indecision; thwarting every effort President Obama puts into place.

BEYOND BEING FLOTUS: THE MICHELLE OBAMA LEGACY.

“Behind every successful man is a very powerful woman”, FLOTUS Michelle Obama is proof positive for this profound statement. I have said this of Michelle Obama very many times, she is a very phenomenal woman who reminds me of my late mother (RIP)—actually, I crowned her my phenomenal woman of the year 2015(our late mother was a gardener, equally).To me, for anyone to applaud President Obama’s achievements in isolation of the role play by this great lady is only trying to peddle fiction: there is no successful Barack Obama without a powerful lady, Michelle Obama.

Some years ago, as way back as 1980, when President Bill Clinton was still a governor—just after Bill had lost the gubernatorial election, the Arkansas Gazette wrote this about Hillary Clinton: “Mrs. Clinton is certainly the best orator among politicians’ wives”. Actually, while Michelle turns down ever running for the highest office, if I had the authority to tell her to go for it…I would. She is electable and a very resourceful person; very learned, smart, a hard-worker and has a very awesome temperament. I could go on and on but let me do this in a summary. To this list, in the present day America, I can confidently say that FLOTUS Michelle Obama finds her name to this list: and, this respect is well deserved, that’s not something anyone should hold a debate to: Michelle Obama is dope.

HILLARY & BILL CLINTON, PROFOUND FIGURES TO THE OBAMA LEGACY

The Clinton family are people who make the equation of the Obama Legacy hold very much; I say this with very much respect for their unwavering support where Hillary served as secretary of state(as she chronicles her tasks in her memoir, HARD CHOICES).I have said it before that when Sen. Obama became the Democratic party nominee, I was for Hillary Clinton.Basically,when President Obama made Hillary his secretary of state, I have since loved him for his level of maturity.Certainly,President Obama’s presidency will pass down in History as one of America’s successful administrations(Remember: you can’t name a successful administration in American Politics without mentioning President Bill Clinton’s, unless you are just grasping for straws)—as President Bill Clinton once said: “do the arithmetic and not the fuzzy maths”

A few days ago, I wrote my 2^ND Hillary Clinton endorsement(the first longest endorsement I have authored of her).I want to continue yet again to add to where I left it herein .For so long, Hillary Clinton has been targeted by the republicans—she has had to live under so much of their witch-hunt. As Clare Foran earlier wrote in article in the Atlantic(that I read from salon, titled the Sickness within the GoP): “For all the hype surrounding the high profile attacks led by Trey Growdy,the chair of house select committee in Benghazi, republicans have so far failed to unearth capable of sinking Clinton’s political prospect”.

After the unfortunate Brussels attacks, Hillary Clinton took it to CNN and addressed the world at large and America in particular making these beautiful remarks: “In the face of terror, America doesn’t panic or build walls or turn our backs on our allies. This is time to lead; not cower. We need a President who can provide leadership that is strong, smart and steady: the last thing we need are leaders who incite more fear”.Yes, it is very horrible for the rest of the world to see the world’s most powerful nation on earth panic(actually, what those incredible fear monger fools forget is that, by sowing fear—they aid the ISIS in doing what they want do because FEAR is their greatest weapon).Certainly, this is why President Obama, while speaking in Argentina after his Cuban Visit branded it senseless and vicious Violence

HEALTHY WARNING. The rhetoric that promotes more fear is downright wrong: we only ought to pay attention to those things that create Fear in our lives. And for America (and, the rest of the world, let us confront fear and not embolden it like Hillary Clinton said).I have known this Poem for a while now and it has been always meaningful, and as long as we have the republican lot—an existential threat to molarity and truth, I will leave it here, as well.

Martin Niemoller once wrote:

“When Nazis came for the communists,

I remained silent,

I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,

I remained silent;

I was not a social democrat

When they came for the trade unionists,

I didn’t speak out;

I wasn’t a trade unionist

When they came for the Jews,

I remained silent;

I wasn’t a Jew.

When they came for me,

There was no one to speak out”

What is in America today speaks very loudly to everyone in the world(by virtue of the fact that America is the most powerful nation on earth and the leader automatically becomes the most powerful man/woman on earth).That said, I say that my role play in the #NEVERTRUMP campaign is real because it’s been a while I witnessed a split quite this naked(in the republican party)—a Trump led split(a very dangerous man).In the past, it has often portended some sort of realignment.History,though, reminds us of instances:

For republicans; the Barry gold-water- Nelson Rockefeller civil war of 1968, ,and its fading echo in John Anderson’s third party campaign in 1980—these were the milestones along Rockefeller republicanism’s road to becoming just another variety of North eastern Liberalism. For the Democrats: the Democrats split in 1968, with George Wallace running a Trumpesque third party campaign in 1972,when many party leaders barely supported the transformation of southern Democrats and blue-collar whites into reliable Nixon and Reagan voters. Speaking of George Wallace, he is the present day Donald Trump (of course the Donald matches the description of very many weirdos), I always want to relate what the insults the Donald has made to almost everyone (use this collection, it’s unbelievable)  to the very words of George Wallace in 1968 : “segregation now, segregation forever”.

I must say that the second greatest day of my life will be meeting President Obama at the White House (I can only pray for Godspeed; as he has a few months left)—then President Bill Clinton and his dear wife Hillary Clinton plus the phenomenal and inspirational writers of this journey: C. JoyBell .C & JK Rowling, the reason I have turned out a great writer. In the end my resume should be impressive on both sides of the aisle: the charm in reading my blistering critiques should be because they are insightful, informed and full of light that they make despair and ‘futility of reason’ palatable…at least for the length of time it takes to read them. As J K Rowling once remarked: “We do not need magic to transform the world, we carry all the power we need inside in ourselves already, we have the power to imagine better”. Finally, the person to whom this memoir is addressed to, President Barack .H.Obama says: “We are the people we have been waiting for”.