It’s a very pleasant thing to hear Obama saying that transparency and rule of law will be the bedrock of his administration. He seems to have grasped the idea that to have justice is to act justly everywhere. And to hear of moves happening in Guantanamo is also a relief, I hope he goes all the way, but, as an outsider, I hope American citizens {by this I suppose I mean their media} don’t blow it by expecting the impossible from him. Solid steady reform is what would benefit those of us in other countries.
The media coverage in the UK is already becoming frustrating, however. A lot has been made of the fact that he is the first black president, but I think this should be dealt with more specifically. It does mean something in that it would have been impossible in a segregated America, but we should be mindful of the barriers that still exist and that we are talking about by implication when we say ‘first black president’. Could a young black child growing up in the projects today and attending a failing school go as far as he has? {I ask this as a question I don’t know the answer to}. Opportunity, or its lack, still preserves a shadow of segregation today and appears in more forms than just out and out racism, and we shouldn’t imagine it has disappeared overnight. And again it is necessary to bemoan the foolish idea that representation in politics is when someone who looks like you is in government. True representation only comes when your case is heard. I’m now waiting for the first president of Iraqi parentage…
