-By Lee Culpepper
Remember Barbara Eden’s hit character “Jeannie” materializing from a cloud of pink smoke? Well, I wonder if Obama’s stupefied supporters envision the same vaporous entrance each time their candidate with the magic wallet pops up on stage. Seriously, how else can they explain their belief that Obama could actually grant and fulfill all their government-sponsored wishes? Only silly television shows, children’s fairytales, and socialist fantasies have the sort of hope where magic – or less believable, the government – can fix people’s problems.
Nonetheless, smoky entrances and Walt-Disney-like magic account for only two of Jeannie and Obama’s interesting similarities. Let’s examine where each of them lived — or more accurately, didn’t live. Jeannie never really resided in that antique bottle with the pink, plush, puffy-pillowed pad inside. No, Jeannie trivia reveals that Jim Beam Whiskey was the only resident ever to actually occupy Jeannie’s bottle. After spending some time in the show’s art department, the whiskey bottle acquired its more genie-like appearance. Today, as the product of a whiskey maker and a Hollywood show, the bottle will always be one part Jim Beam and one part Jeannie.
Similarly, Barack Obama never grew up in a poor, black American neighborhood. As we know, he occupied his non-black grandparents’ house and the dormitories of America’s best schools. His unique background and commendable education left a portion of black America questioning the “authenticity” of his “blackness” (whatever that definition may be). Apparently his authentic whiteness was half the problem. Fortunately, spending twenty years in the Trinity United Church of Christ solved Obama’s superficial problem. Once blessed by his racist, anti-American “preacher,” Obama magically became a black man, as opposed to an American man who happens to be half black and half white.
Maybe through magic, liberals will succeed in convincing us that we don’t actually live in 2008 America. Their constant reference to Obama as solely a black man is more reminiscent of the Southern Secessionists and Jim Crow supporters. The voodoo of the multicultural movement is a new attempt to splinter the country. America’s melting pot society had us moving in the right direction. We were finally free to judge a man based on his character and conduct, not his skin color. Today, we are once again dragged back to tolerating immorality and bad behavior that gets passed off as diverse culture. The difference with multiculturalism and white racism is that multiculturalism tolerates corrupt behavior from a variety of skin colors. This visionary idea is what liberals call progress.
Even Obama’s attempt to make his nightmare preacher disappear was riddled with excuses and inferences of cultural tolerance. But America does not need therapy sessions regarding multicultural relations or magical government programs. America needs a leader with the guts to bluntly tell all of us that everyone has a sob story. Your problems will always seem more important to you than my problems. But blaming someone else for the problems each of us face doesn’t help anyone. Hard work, self-discipline, and determination do.
According to the 2006 U.S. Census, 25% of black Americans live in poverty, which equates to about 9 million people. While that reality is startling, the 23-million poor-white Americans more than double the number of poor blacks. Does telling any of these Americans that their troubles are someone else’s fault help them? Is telling them that the government’s magic can change their situation any better? Ben Franklin wrote, “He that lives upon hope will die fasting.” This is the sort of straight-talking honesty America needs in a leader. Without effort and perseverance, hope withers rather swiftly, but Obama doesn’t talk about that. People like Obama and his “preacher” flourish upon the failures of those they claim to help.
Unlike Jeannie, Obama does not enjoy the luxury of living in an imaginary world. Jeannie could always use magic to fix her mistakes. But in Obama’s world, tax dollars are not magic. Working Americans carry the financial burdens and suffer the social consequences of politicians’ failed programs and botched intentions. Consequently, America does not need another shyster politician. We need a leader who won’t pacify our self-pity. And we need leader who will inspire us to tackle the daunting challenges each of us must face.
Franklin penned another saying, too: “Here comes the orator! With his flood of words and drop of reason.” I guess that explains why I always feel like I’m drowning whenever I dream of Obama becoming our next president.
____________________
Lee Culpepper is a Marine turned high school English teacher. Currently, he is writing his first book, Alone and Unafraid: One Marine’s Counterattack Inside the Walls of Public Education.
Lee can be reached at drcoolpepper@yahoo.com.
Visit Lee’s blog at http://wlculpepper.townhall.com/